Around the World in 100 Days
by Triforcemaster3
Summary: In the age of exploration, a young man named Will finds himself brainwashed and carrying strange psychic powers following a lost expedition to the Tower of Babel.  Now he is on a new quest that will ultimately determine the survival of humanity itself.
1. Ocean Breezes

**Around the Earth in 100 days**

**Chapter 1: Ocean Breezes**

Day 1:

"That's all for today's lesson." The teacher said. "You should do your best not to fall behind. Be very careful when traveling. Demons have appeared outside of town, if you must travel, go with your parents."

"I'll see you guys at the usual place." Seth told Will.

"I have to go home first." Erik said. "If I don't, my parents will think that I was held after school again."

"Like always, the cave at the seashore." Lance told him.

Will rose from his seat and picked up a piece of paper off of the teacher's desk, then exited the school through the staircase on the left side of the room. The staircase took him up to the roof of the school building. Nobody ever followed him onto the roof; it was his own personal space. He often ventured up there after tough schooldays, or whenever he needed to blow off some steam or think about something important. He paced on the roof as he thought about what the teacher had told him. Demons were appearing outside of town? But how could this be? Will had encountered demons before in his explorations with his father, Olman, but never before had he seen any in his home region. If they came into town, it could mean big trouble for everybody. While he was pondering the situation, he noticed something shiny on the ground inside the school's bell tower. It was a shiny red jewel. Will noticed the jewel's luster and figured it must be worth some value, so he tucked it into his pocket.

It was a cloudy and breezy spring day in South Cape, the largest town on the continent of West Gondwanaland. From his location on the roof, Will could see nearly the entire town sprawled out before him. He could see the houses of him and all his friends, as well as the various businesses spread out along the shoreline. Located on the southern edge of the continent near the intersection of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, South Cape was a major seaport town. Fishing was a major industry in the town, as was shipbuilding, which was what Will's father did before becoming an explorer.

"I wonder if Erik left his house yet." Will wondered. Without thinking, he leaped off the roof into a soft dirt pit twenty feet below. For a normal person, such a leap would be a foolhardy move, but to Will it was a viable way of getting around town. He was a risk-taker, never afraid of going on adventures into the wilderness or performing feats of courage such as jumping off buildings or attacking wild animals with his flute (which doubled as his primary weapon if he ever needed one). He possessed amazing strength, his arm muscles very well defined beneath his blue tunic, his long hair flapping in the wind. Standing fairly tall, maybe five feet eleven or six feet, he was one of the tallest young men in South Cape.

Will made his way through town down to the docks along the seashore. He then began to walk to the east along the main pier. This particular pier ran from the seaport down to a cave along the seashore. This cave was a major hangout spot for Will and his friends, so much so that it could be considered a second home. Most days when lessons were completed at the school, they would gather to play games, talk, and do whatever they wished. When will walked in, he noticed his friends Lance and Seth playing a game of cards.

"I just can't seem to get the upper hand." Lance said as he drew a card.

"Ah ha ha, I am going to win again for sure." Seth said as he laid down another set of three cards.

Before Will could comment on their game, Eric rushed in with a hurried look on his face. Judging by the way he was panting, he must have run quite a ways to reach them.

"Ah ha, news, big news!" Eric bellowed. "The Princess of Edward Castle has run away. They say she has come to South Cape!"

Lance and Seth abruptly stopped their game and rose from their chairs. Lance was fairly annoyed by Eric's interruption. "That's all? I thought the way you came in here that you had something really important to say. The Princess is probably that spoiled brat Kara, the one you like so much."

"Liar!" Eric yelled. "The soldiers are rumored to be coming after her. The soldiers from Edward Castle are so cool; I want a steel helmet too!"

"Well, enough of the crazy talk." Seth said. "Will, if you would please."

Will moved over to his seat at the back of the table. He waited for Eric to sit down before speaking. "Everybody is here. What should we do today?"

"I want to see Will's psychic powers again." Erik said as he pointed to a large statue in the corner. "You know that he moved that statue over there in the corner. Will has some pretty amazing power."

Lance concurred. "Will, show me again." He said.

Initially, Will was squeamish about it, but with the encouragement of his friends, he rose from his seat. Deep down, he didn't want people to know about his greatest secrets, but he felt pretty secure with Lance, Erik, and Seth. He took a position in the center of the cave, about twenty feet away from the statue. He took out his flute, held it out in front of his body, and began to concentrate on the statue. Then he began to twirl his flute in a clockwise rotation. Within a second, the statue began to move toward Will. Three seconds later, he dropped his flute and the statue stopped on a dime.

Seth and Erik both cheered Will. Lance, always the more skeptical one of the three, decided to test Will's power further. "Next, pick a card;" he said to Will, "I'm going to lay four cards face down. Pick the card that you think is the Ace of Diamonds."

Lance laid the four cards on the ground. Will pranced around several cards before picking up the one farthest to the left. It was the Ace of Diamonds of course.

"Aah, right." Lance said.

His friends jumped out of their seat. "No matter how many times I see it, it still amazes me." Said Erik.

"Yeah, Will's power has to be some kind of psychic ability. Most people have five senses, sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. I think Will's psychic powers are a kind of sixth sense."

"What Seth says is too weird for me to understand." Lance said. He walked back to his spot to the left of the table. "Seth, let's play one more game," he said as he picked up the cards. He began to deal the cards.

Will left the cave shortly thereafter. He figured that dinner would be ready soon. His Grandma Lola was making one of his favorite meals for dinner, snail pie with whipped cream. The reminder of the upcoming meal suddenly made Will quite hungry. He walked north off of the seashore through the dirt streets of South Cape back to his house, which was a nice two-story place on the northern end of town.

But when he walked into the house, his grandmother and grandfather were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps more perplexing was the presence of a pig, digging its snout into a bookshelf along the back wall of the room. Wondering why a pig was in his house, Will started toward the stairs when a beautiful young woman walked down the stairs and into the room. Wearing a pink dress and some nice jewelry, her presence was stunning. Remembering what Erik had told him earlier in the day about the runaway princess, Will put two and two together. The Princess of Edward Castle was standing in front of him!


	2. The Letter

**Chapter 2: The Letter**

But what was she doing in South Cape, inside his house? While pondering this question, he noticed the pig pushing its snout against his legs.

"Hamlet!" she said loudly. "You know better than to be pushy with strangers."

"Who are you?" Will asked her.

"Is this your house." She asked him.

"Yeah, so?" he said back.

The young lady moved closer to Will, better examining his physique. Will tried hard not to blush or do anything stupid.

"Frankly, you look a little shabby." She told him.

Will was embarrassed. "Well, excuse me!"

"Is this a picture of your parents?" the woman asked, walking toward a picture frame on the wall.

"My father's an explorer, he…" Will tried to explain.

"I know, Olman the explorer," she said. "They say he was lost…"

"My father will come back some day." Will said with assurance.

The princess looked around for several seconds, and then spoke again. "So is there a piano here?"

"No, there isn't!" Will said loudly. "But you can sing with my grandmother Lola. She has such a lovely voice."

"They are upstairs now, they have such loud voices," the princess said.

Will was getting a bit perturbed at how off topic their conversation had become. He wanted answers, and seeing as the princess had emerged from upstairs, perhaps his grandparents knew why she was here. He headed quickly up the stairs. His grandma Lola and grandpa Bill were standing in front of a dresser singing. They stopped abruptly when they saw Will come into the room.

"Hello Will." Grandpa Bill said. "Your grandmother and I were singing just now. She sings beautifully. If I didn't know any better I'd say I fell in love with her voice."

"Oh you, talking like that." Lola said as she laughed a bit. "I'm no better than that girl that was just singing with us. So Will, how was the day?" She asked.

But before Will could open his mouth to speak, there was a scream from downstairs. It was the princess. "Oh, it's that girl that was singing with us just a minute ago." Grandpa Bill said hurriedly. The three immediately moved down the stairs into the living room area, and saw three soldiers in heavy metal armor standing in their house. They had the princess backed against the wall adjacent to the washtub.

"Princess, let's go." The lead soldier said to her.

"I don't know you, be gone!" she snapped back.

"Have you no shame?" the solider said to her. "If I don't return you home, I might lose my head!"

The princess turned her back to the soldiers and stared at the wall. "What do I care if you lose your head?"

"Princess!" The soldier yelled, now showing his anger. "You have worried us all sick. I must take you home; it is the King's orders."

The soldier moved in toward the princess and grabbed her. She struggled against him as the other soldiers moved in to subdue her. Will felt a strange obligation to help her, but thought better of it as he considered the consequences of attacking soldiers of Edward Castle. As they dragged her out of the house, she spoke to Will. "Will, I am King Edward's daughter, Kara. I feel a strange resemblance to you, as if we've been good friends." Then she was gone.

There was a long silence after the soldiers had left. Finally, Grandpa Bill broke the monotony. "So the princess likes to play practical jokes, heh heh," he said.

"Well that's quite enough." Grandma Lola said. "I've made a delicious pie for us, why don't we sit at the table upstairs," she said.

The rest of the night went by as if it were a dream. Well, actually part of it was. Will sat down for a delicious feast of snail pie with whipped cream. As usual, Will only had one piece, while Grandpa Bill ate half the pie. Later that night, Will had a strange dream, in which he and Kara went on a trip around the world. They saw everything, South Cape, Edward Castle, even the tower of Babel. Even after the dream was over and Will had awoken, it still resonated in his mind. Why exactly was he having dreams about a woman he did not even know? It was as if destiny was calling out to him.

Day 2:

The next morning, Will awoke and went down the stairs, where Grandpa Bill and Grandma Lola were already waiting for him. His breakfast, another piece of snail pie, was waiting for him. However, this did not concern him as much as the apparent demeanor of his grandparents. They looked somehow, glum.

"Good morning Will. A letter has arrived for you. It is from King Edward." Grandma Lola said.

A letter, from King Edward?" Will thought. He suddenly got goose bumps. Maybe the King was unhappy about his daughter's little excursion to South Cape. Will took the letter and opened it nervously. The writing was plain, and straight to the point. "Bring the Crystal Ring from Olman's things to Edward Castle, King Edward," Will read aloud. There was also a small drawing of the route to the castle from South Cape. The castle appeared to be a day's walk northeast of South Cape.

"A Crystal Ring? Never heard of such a thing. Your father never carried things like that." Grandma Lola said. "Will, you should keep your wits about you inside the Castle, lest you end up in the castle prison. Your grandfather designed it."

"My grandfather?" Will exclaimed. He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"I used to be an architect." Grandpa Bill explained. "There's a prison under the castle. It's designed like a maze to prevent the prisoners from escaping."

"I guess if you are being summoned, there is no use. You must go to the castle," Grandma Lola said. "Here, this is a melody that could be of use. If you ever get into trouble, play this melody on your flute."

Grandma Lola began to hum a strange melody. Will didn't know why, but he recognized it for it was oddly familiar. He took out his flute and made note of how to play the song. Then he said goodbye to his grandparents and left the house. He thought of going down to the cave to tell his friends of his journey, but decided not to. This was something that he didn't want anybody to know about, at least not for the time being. He continued to walk northbound until he reached the northern wall of the city. The wall was constructed at the city limits of South Cape about a hundred years ago, and was now used primarily to stop the demons of West Gondwanaland from getting into the city. At the wall's gate stood a guard, who initially stopped Will. He showed the guard the letter.

"King Edward has summoned you? Well, just be careful." The guard told him.


	3. Olman's Ring

**Chapter 3: Olman's Ring**

Day 3:

Will rubbed his eyes as he moved toward Edward Castle, the principle kingdom of West Gondwanaland. It had been a fairly long journey to the castle from South Cape, about a sixty mile jaunt to the northeast. Although Will had been adventuring in the past with his father and had traveled long distances, he hadn't done it in quite a while. More annoying to Will than his fatigue was his headache. For some reason he had been experiencing some nasty migraines ever since the previous evening. Perhaps the pain was out of nervousness for his coming meeting with King Edward, but no matter what the reason, it still bothered him.

Will stopped as he reached the drawbridge. A guard came over to examine him. Will showed him the letter, and after a quick look at his belongings, allowed Will to pass across the bridge into the castle. Will entered Edward Castle, and was immediately floored by how extravagant the main hall was. Finely woven red carpets sprawled out before him on the sparkling marble floor. Bright blue banners hung from the rafters. "How rich is King Edward?" Will thought to himself. "Are there rooms filled with gold and silver somewhere?"

"Excuse me. I must report this intrusion." A soldier abruptly told him as he stood at the main hall entrance. Will showed him the letter from King Edward. "A letter from King Edward? I am sorry, you may pass." He said.

Will made his way through the main hall toward the stairs leading to the throne room. But before he could reach the stairwell, he was stopped by another soldier. "King Edward is having breakfast. Please come back later." Will was a bit taken aback, but then turned around and left. He wondered what he would do with his newfound free time. He looked around at several of the soldiers. They were pretty tough on him entering the castle, but now that he was inside they didn't seem to mind his presence.

"I wonder if Kara is here." Will asked himself. He walked across the main hall to a stairway on the right. A soldier was standing behind a pillar near the stairs. He motioned in Will's direction. "Be courteous of others, and mind your manners." He said. "In return, I will give you a red jewel." Will took the jewel from the soldier's outstretched arm. It somehow looked very similar to the jewel he had found atop the school in South Cape. "It must be a coincidence." Will thought to himself.

After thanking the soldier, he headed up the stairs to the second floor, and then up another flight to the third floor. After turning a corner, he noticed a bridge leading over toward a fairly large room. There was a soldier standing near the entrance of the room, and behind the entranceway stood a woman in pink, Kara. Will rushed across the stone bridge through the crisp morning air, as fast as he could.

"Stop." The soldier said. "This is the princess's quarters."

"Who is it?" Kara asked. "A visitor?"

"This is just a shabby boy." The soldier said.

"It's me Kara." Will said.

"Oh!" Kara shouted. "Let him in, or I'll let everybody know your old nickname!"

"Oh pardon me, please enter!" The soldier said hurriedly.

Will entered Kara's room. The room was big, with a large bed in the right corner, and a fairly large trunk of clothes on the left. A whole slew of other valuables stretched out on a shelf running along the back of the room. It was definitely a room fit for a princess.

"You're here? Why?" Kara asked Will.

"I was asked to bring the crystal ring to King Edward."

Kara instantly jumped up and down, as if she was about to throw a massive temper tantrum. "Terrible, its terrible!" she ranted. "Once again my father is trying to take something important from someone! I've watched my father do this before, but now he's really done it! I've always had great respect for my father and mother, but now...it's weird, my parents seem to have changed. My mother has hired a professional hunter, an evil-hearted man who knows no bounds. I watch my father steal. I want to see things for myself, but its almost as if I've become a prisoner myself. I want to leave the castle."

"Let's go Kara." The soldier said, annoyed. He didn't like Will's presence one bit, especially with Kara divulging such things to him.

"I feel scared." Kara said. "Will, take me out of here."

"Now!" the soldier yelled.

"Please come back Will." Kara said. The soldier grabbed Will's arm and accosted him out of Kara's room. Will was stunned on two fronts, both on the soldier's nastiness, and on the revelation laid out by Kara. She desired Will to break her out of the castle. But to do that would be very dangerous, of that Will was sure. In either case, he still had to see King Edward. Maybe his meeting with the King would shed more light on Kara's distraught state.

He proceeded back to the main hall, and then ventured back to the stairs leading to the throne room. The soldier guarding the stairway was gone. After traveling up the stairs, Will found himself in the throne room, a room of even greater extravagance than he had seen thus far in the castle. The marble flooring was now interspersed with gold and the banners were lined with silver. He turned a corner and came before a staircase, leading to the thrones of King Edward and Queen Edwina, the crowned monarchs of West Gondwanaland. At the base of the staircase stood two guards, one of whom told Will in no uncertain terms to "keep his wits about him." Will already had a lump in his throat, both from what he heard from Kara earlier and from the simple fact that he did not possess the crystal ring King Edward sought. These words from the soldier did nothing to quiet his fears.

"So, you must be Will, the kid from South Cape and son of Olman the explorer."

"Yes. That's me."

King Edward did not beat around the bush. "So you have come to my castle to deliver Olman's crystal ring to me, have you not? Well, do you have the ring?" he asked.

Will tried to explain. "Your majesty, I don't know anything about a crystal ring."

"So do you have the ring for me, yes or no?" King Edward asked him.

"No." Will said.

"How dare you say such a thing to me!" King Edward screamed. "Guards! Throw this impudent weasel in prison! Then go to Will's house and find the ring!"

"Yes sir!" The soldiers along the staircase said as they moved toward Will.

Will was incensed. With the soldiers closing in on him, he appealed to Queen Edwina. "Ma'am, save me!" he yelled. But Queen Edwina did not budge, perhaps because she did not wish to anger her husband during one of his more angry moments. The soldiers grabbed Will. He struggled for several seconds before one of the soldiers whacked him in the side of the head with a piece of steel armor plating. He blacked out from the pain.

The next thing he knew, Will was standing in a prison cell.


	4. Escape From Edward Prison

**Chapter 4: Escape from Edward Prison**

"I wonder why I have to suffer so." Will wondered. "Anyway, I need to find a way out of here."

Unfortunately for Will, he was in quite a predicament. The jail cell door was made of solid steel bars, and it was locked with a chain lock. The walls all around him were made of stone, and were covered in moss. It was quite dark in the prison, dark enough that Will had to dilate his pupils just to examine his surroundings. He had no idea just how long he had been knocked out, but one thing was clear, his head hurt.

Will looked over toward a ball and chain in the corner of the room. He figured that at some point or another, somebody had been chained to the ball. He was glad that the soldiers hadn't bothered to do the same with him. Before long, he heard the sound of a voice above him. A soldier spoke to him through a hole in the ceiling.

"It's today's ration of bread. Even moss drinks water," the soldier told him. He tossed a small loaf of bread down from the ceiling, and Will made a basket catch. Perhaps not surprisingly, the bread was hard, hard enough that it was the worst thing he had ever tasted. He already missed Grandma Lola's creative cuisine. As he attempted to eat the rock-hard loaf, he thought back to when the soldier talked to him. If the soldiers were walking around on the floor above that probably meant that he was in the basement of the castle, in the maze prison that Grandpa Bill had told him about.

Time passed slowly, with nothing to break the monotony. As Will thought of ways in which to escape, he passed into a deep sleep.

Suddenly, after an unknown period of time, Will heard a voice coming from inside of his flute. "Will," the flute said, "This is your father."

Will immediately got up and grabbed his flute. "Father? Is that you?"

"I have waited long to talk with you," it said. Isn't Grandma Lola's pie delicious?"

"Uh, sure Dad, where are you?" Will asked.

"I can't tell you now. I have a favor to ask of you, listen. I am asking you to save me. I am in an area of dangerous demons. Look toward the left hand wall."

Out of nowhere, a reddish-black gem fell from the ceiling. Will picked it up. "This?" he asked the flute.

"Haven't you heard anything from Grandpa Bill?" it asked.

"Grandpa? He was a carpenter."

"Starting now you will enter a terrible thing." The flute said.

"Do I have to?" Will asked in an exasperated manner.

The flute didn't skip a beat. "Pick up the stone that your enemy left behind, the reddish-black one. The power of the crystal is contained there. Demons you fight will leave these stones behind as you fight them. If you collect 100 of these, you will live again even if you are defeated."

Will thought this to be very cool. It took his mind off of all the misfortune that had come to him in recent days. The flute continued. "Beginning now you will embark on a journey to the ruins of the ancient world to find the mystic statues. These statues are the key to saving me. There are 6 of them in total, one in each ruin. No time, quick, first to the Incan Ruins!"

The flute faded out and disappeared. Will's head was spinning from all that he had been told. Was that really his father talking to him? It sounded like it, but he had his doubts. And what about those dark crystals, could they really provide immortality? And what did the ruins of the ancient world have to do with saving his father? It all didn't make sense.

Luckily, before he could think too much about it, he heard what sounded like a pig's oink in the foreground. He looked through the steel cage door, and saw that a pig was walking toward his jail cell. "I wonder if this is Kara's pig," Will said. What a stroke of luck it was to see Hamlet, for he had a letter and a key tied to his tail. Will picked up the letter and the key and thanked Hamlet as he opened the letter. It read, "Sorry to hear that you're in prison. It's terrible what my father has done but hear this. I too am a prisoner, in a prison of silver and gold. But tonight that changes, for I will leave the castle forever. You will also be free. Kara."

Will turned the prison key and the steel gate opened with a creaking sound. Will rushed out of the jail room and into an underground tunnel. He needed to find Kara and escape the castle. Of course, finding his way through the underground maze of tunnels was not going to be easy. Especially since the tunnel was infested with bats that half attacked him, half obstructed his vision. He made his way down the tunnel and entered a bigger room. An underground canal of some sort ran through the middle of the room, and several more bats flew around in a menacing manner within it. Will crossed a small stone bridge that led over the canal, and across the way he noticed something very strange. It looked like a skeleton of some kind, except it walked around like a person. Could this skeleton creature be one of the demons that everyone was talking about?

Will approached the creature, and it swung its arms menacingly toward him. Will avoided its arms and struck it with his flute. It responded by throwing a bone at him. Will dodged this and attacked it again, this time in the head. The demon suddenly blew up in a cloud of fire and smoke, signifying its being defeated. It left behind a dark crystal similar to the one that Will's father left for him in the prison cell. Will grabbed it and immediately thought of his father. If his father was truly in danger, then he owed it to his dad to do anything he could to help him. With his resolve now strengthened, Will made his way through four similar rooms until he reached a dead end. Along the way he encountered more demons, whom he defeated and collected dark crystals from.

"Oh great!" Will thought to himself as he reached the dead end. "I've gone down the wrong path." Just before he was about to turn around and go back the other way, he heard another voice talking to him. This time it wasn't his father though.

"Play the melody, the melody that Grandma Lola taught you."

Will was a bit freaked out at the sound of the disembodied voice. But since he had no other real options, he took his flute and played the melody. After he had completed playing the song, the voice spoke again. It told him to move in front of the switch on the floor to his right.

"Alright," the voice said. "This switch is time activated; it will only open on my count of 3. When I get to three, you trip the switch."

"1…2…3!"

On three, Will swung his flute and hit the switch. Suddenly, part of the wall swung open, revealing a passageway forward. The voice told him to go forward.

Another underground river was present in the next room, but this one was wider and the water's current was treacherously fast, rendering a swim across risky at best. Will turned and saw a switch on dry land that appeared to be associated with a folding causeway leading across the river. But the switch was behind some heavy rocks and was out of his reach. He dabbled over this newfound predicament for several minutes. Then he noticed a creature of some kind slithering along the surface of the water. It was a canal worm.

To Will's surprise, the worm attempted to attack him as he approached it, but he quickly subdued it with his flute. He picked it up and carried it over his shoulder toward the switch. With a big heave, Will tossed the giant worm onto the switch, tripping it. The bridge folded downward, opening the way forward. A little way across the bridge stood a treasure chest, which contained three red jewels. Will took them and put them into his sack, at least his misadventure through Edward Castle wouldn't be for naught.

He continued along a winding path the led down the underground river, until he reached a big stone doorway. The door was locked. In front of the door stood another skeleton demon. Will quickly engaged this demon using his flute as a weapon. Within seconds he had sliced and diced through the demon's bones. But then something happened that surprised Will. The demon's head flew off and seemed to come straight at him. He dodged it just barely and then swung his flute like a bat, crushing the flying skull as it came back at him. The skull crumbled and inside the skull was a key. Will picked up the key and opened the stone doorway. Inside the next room were several barrels, one of which contained a red jewel in it. Will claimed the jewel and moved forward toward what appeared to be a stairway heading up. Had he found the exit?

Then suddenly, a dandelion flew out from the staircase. Will thought nothing of it at first, but the dandelion continued to flutter at about eye level right in front of him, despite the absence of any wind in the room. The dandelion enlarged and turned into a person. It was a girl with short blue hair. Will was floored by what he had just seen.

"Oh, Will, I was surprised to see you in such a place." the girl said. "I am so glad to see you're all right. The Elder sent me here to find you. My name is Lilly. I know your grandparents rather well, doesn't Grandma Lola make a great pie?"

Will was now doubly stunned. First he was talking with a woman who knew the ability to change form, and not only that, but she was talking about his grandmother's pie. "You know my grandmother?" Will asked, grasping for the only thing he could think of at such a moment.

"Actually, she asked me to rescue you." Lilly said.

There was a sudden sound in the room as soon as Lilly finished her sentence. Will felt his hair stand on end with every word Lilly spoke. What in the world was going on?

"The Elder is calling, I must go now. Will, we will meet again." Lilly transformed back into her dandelion form and left the room through the staircase.

"My grandmother asked Lilly to rescue me?" Will wondered to himself. "How does Lola know Lilly? Who is she?" He had a lot of questions that needed answered. While he continued to think, one thing suddenly shot back from the depths of his mind. Kara, he had to find her. She had asked her to take her out of the castle, and her letter delivered by Hamlet meant that she was serious. Will quickly scurried up the stairs and found himself in the basement of the castle. He had escaped the Edward Castle prison!

There were tons more barrels in the basement, and as Will walked by, he noticed a pungent aroma of meat in the room. He was very hungry, and at this point did not care about stealing all the food in the basement in return for King Edward's imprisoning him. He quickly took four legs of meat, stuffed them into his backpack, and raced up three flights of stairs to the castle's third floor. At this point, all that mattered was speed. The quickly he could get himself and Kara out of the castle, the less likely it would be that they would be caught. Will sprinted across the bridge to Kara's room, not even noticing the soldier standing in the entranceway. Even stranger, the soldier didn't seem to notice him either.

Kara immediately jumped up when she saw Will. They gathered their belongings and left the room. As they ran across the bridge through the dark night, Kara made a reference to her guardian soldier's nickname, Old Snorehead. Luckily for the two of them, he had lived up to that nickname. As they headed down the stairs toward the main entrance, several of Kara's attendants watched them leave. A few of them even waved to Kara, almost giving their grace to Kara's decision to flee the castle. Apparently Kara's plan to flee was long discussed, and her close attendants were in on the plan. Will thought that was strange given King Edward's strong authority. They were about to reach the main entrance of the castle when Kara suddenly stopped. "Wait, it's a long journey." she said. "We should bring food."

Will responded. "I found these in the basement." He showed her the meat he had grabbed from the barrels.

Kara was delighted. "Good, everything is ready then. Let's get out of here before the guards find out. Let's go to your house, I'm concerned about your grandparents."

Will was glad to leave the castle and step out into the fresh air of the night, but Kara's sentence troubled him. Now two people, actually three were concerned about his grandparents, and yet he was in the dark. They had to get back to South Cape as quickly as possible!


	5. Retreat to the Cave

**Chapter 5: Retreat to the Cave**

Day 4 -

"How much farther do we have to go?"

"It should be about another two miles. See those hills over there? Once we go over them, the town will come into plain sight. You'll be able to smell the salt in the air as we approach the ocean."

"I sure hope you're right. I'm tired, its been a long trip."

Will turned back to Kara, then looked back toward the late afternoon sunlight. They had been traveling for almost twelve hours in total, minus the time they spent sleeping out in the wilderness. They had left the castle in the dead of night, and were so tired from their retreat that they set up camp by a small river about twelve miles south of Edward Castle. In the morning, they continued their journey. An experienced adventurer, Will was very much used to walking all day and setting up camp in the outdoors. He was not tired in the least, but he imagined this type of travel was tough on Kara, so he concurred.

"Yeah, its quite a trip." he said. "At least we're getting close now."

In fact, just as Will said this, the tall spires of the school and church of South Cape came into view, as did the outer wall of the town. About ten minutes later, Will and Kara walked through the north gate of South Cape, the same gate which Will had passed through on his journey to Edward Castle almost three days earlier. He was very glad to be home again, but it did seem a bit awkward to be parading through town with the Princess of Edward Castle to his right. Whatever would he tell his parents? What would Kara do in South Cape?

They came to a street corner, Will lead the way to the left down a small street on the north end of town. It was at this moment that he remembered what his father had told him inside the Edward Castle prison. If he was going to be heading on a journey across the world to the ancient ruins, what would become of Kara? What would become of his friends that he would leave behind? It was a lot to think about.

But as soon as Will opened the front door of his house, all of those thoughts suddenly left him, for the first floor of his house was an absolute mess. Books were thrown on the floor, the bookcase was splintered, there were kitchen utensils including pie pans and utensils strewn all over the room. There was also a stench of marsupial in the room.

"What in the world happened here?" Will said, shocked by what he saw. "Where are my grandparents?"

"Grandpa Bill!" Kara shouted. "Grandma Lola!" Will yelled. "I'll look upstairs!" Kara bellowed to Will.

Will continued to look through the messy room. It wasn't long at all until he heard a horrifying yell from upstairs. "Ooh Will, it's horrible, come quick!"

Will sprinted up the stairs and looked directly at Kara. She was staring at a note that was hung on the wall next to Will's bed. Will did not recognize the note, but it was clear that Kara did. "This?" Will asked her.

"The Jackal...the Jackal's here!" Kara screamed.

"The Jackal?" Will asked.

"He's the hunter hired by my mother!" Kara exclaimed. "An evil hearted man who will stop at nothing. Once he starts after you, there's no stopping him."

Will's heart sank. Maybe King Edward, in his search for the ring, had come after his grandparents. "My grandmother and grandfather." he said gloomily. He almost looked as if he was going to cry, something he hardly ever did. Just then, a dandelion flew into view, right in front of him from the stairwell. Just like inside the basement of Edward Castle, Lilly manifested herself quickly.

"Don't worry." she said. "Your grandmother and grandfather are safe."

"Who are you?" Kara questioned.

"I'm Will's friend" Lilly quickly responded.

Kara didn't look convinced. Ignoring Kara, Will immediately pressed. "Lilly, what do you know about this?"

"It's okay, your grandmother and grandfather have taken refuge in my village." Lilly said.

"Your village?" Kara asked.

"Itory Village." Lilly responded.

"I've never heard of this village." Kara responded quickly.

Like Will, Lilly was becoming slightly agitated with Kara. "Naturally, you wouldn't know about it. Normal people cannot see my village, only villagers are able to enter."

Kara was flabbergasted. "What are you talking about? You're crazy." she responded.

Now Lilly and Kara were really going at it, and neither one of them were even trying to hide their apparent disdain for each other. Will noticed that this conversation was no longer about him, and had degenerated into a verbal catfight between the two young women. Better yet, Will didn't really know either one of them very well, so he used the opportunity to discretely leave the room and head downstairs. In fact, once downstairs Will decided to leave the house entirely. He needed to calm his brain, which was spinning at an alarming pace. He took a walk along the ocean path toward the Seashore Cave. Hopefully he would find his friends there. Within several minutes, he reached the entranceway, where he ran into Lance.

"Will." Lance said. "You're back, how did everything go at the Castle?"

Will didn't answer immediately. There was a bit of bewilderment in his facial expression. Lance noticed and changed his tune. "What, isn't something you don't want to talk about? We're friends, you can tell me anything. We've got to live through good times and bad together don't we?"

"Let's go inside the Cave." Will said. The walked inside, where Erik and Seth were playing cards inside. They greeted Will and they all sat down. "I have some bad news." Will said in a nervous tone.

Seth and Eric were taken slightly aback. It wasn't like Will to talk in such a distressed tone of voice unless something really serious was going on. A true adventurer at heart, Will was generally a very laid back individual, something that was not apparent at this moment.

"I got summoned to Edward Castle by King Edward because he wanted one of my father's valuable possessions. But this valuable, a crystal ring, was not among the possessions my father left behind before our last expedition to the Tower of Babel. Naturally, I did not have it when I went to King Edward. But before I could explain anything, he threw me into the castle's underground prison!"

"He threw you in the prison?" Erik exclaimed. "How did you ever find your way out?"

"Princess Kara sent her pet pig down to my cell with a key. I used the key to break out of the cell, and then I started working my way down the dark hallways. My Grandpa Bill told me before I left for Edward Castle that he used to be an architect, and that he helped design the Edward Castle prison. With this knowledge, I thought of how my grandfather would create things and solve problems. That helped me work through the maze. Once I reached the end, I received word that my grandparents were in trouble and asked for a girl from Itory Village to save me. Lance, Erik, Seth, do any of you know anything about the attack on my grandparents when I was gone?"

"There was a hunter in the streets! I hid." Erik said.

"Typical Erik, scared of his own shadow." Seth said.

"Hey! I'm not as old or strong as adventure-man over there." Erik snapped as he pointed to Will. "I'm the youngest of anybody here, give me a break!"

"Will, I think I saw the person who attacked your grandparents." Lance said.

"You did? Who was he? What did he look like?"

"He came with several soldiers flanking him. It happened early this morning, I was over running an errand over at the school. I was near the front door with our teacher when the hunter and his soldier comrades entered the north gate. They threatened the guard and walked down the street carrying steel weaponry. Teacher and I moved inside the building and took refuge on the roof. The hunter was fairly tall, he had blond spikey hair and was wearing a blue cape. He and the soldiers pretended to be honorable when they came to the door, but once they entered your house, there was a lot of noise. The only thing I remember seeing was your grandmother and grandfather running away toward the north gate and one of the soldiers staggering on his feet attempting to give chase. Judging by the way he was moving, he could have been attacked by one of your grandparents."

"Thank you Lance. You've been a huge help. Lilly's story seems much more believable now." Will said.

"Lilly? Who is that?" Seth asked.

"Lilly is the girl who talked to me at Edward Castle. After Kara and I escaped last night, she followed us to South Cape. The two are at my house right now."

"Wait, you didn't tell us that Kara followed you out of the castle! She's here?" Erik screamed.

"Shhh! We don't want anybody to know about that." Will said. "She asked me to break her out of the castle. If King Edward or his hunter mercenaries finds us, he'll probably kill me! Lilly told us that my grandparents have fled to her hometown, Itory Village. She also said this particular village is not visible to people from the outside world. How that is true, I do not know. In either case, at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning Kara, Lilly, and myself will be headed to Itory. I think we'll be safe there, plus I want to see my grandparents. I'd leave tonight, but Kara and Lilly are likely exhausted."

Lance, Erik, and Seth were all stunned by what they had just heard. For a long while, nobody knew what to say. Then Lance spoke up. "Well everybody, you heard Will. Tomorrow, our friend will be leaving us for a long time. But if this is going to be our last night together, let's make it the best night we've ever had! Will, bring Lilly and Kara down to the cave, we'll protect them for the night, and we'll spend some final time together. Seth, Erik, prepare the cave! We've got royalty coming our way!"


	6. Itory Village

**Chapter 6: Itory Village**

Day 7 -

"It's really starting to get hilly now." Kara said over her heavy breath. "I've never been up in such mountains."

"I told you this trip was too dangerous for a princess." Lilly responded. "You're just lucky the Jackal hasn't found us out here."

"Will, I'm your friend too aren't I?" Kara asked.

"Yes, of course Kara." Will responded. "Lilly, you've made your intentions quite clear. Kara wished to come with us on this journey to Itory. Who are we to deny her? She has actually done a pretty job of keeping up don't you think?"

Lilly didn't respond immediately. She was looking straight ahead, toward a jagged cliff straight in front of them about a quarter mile ahead. "We're almost there." Lilly said to Will. Will didn't think much of it, but he didn't see any semblence of civilization around them for miles. They had climbed about five thousand feet into the foothills of northern West Gondwanaland, a journey that had taken them a little over two days time. Even higher mountains seemed to spread out up to their north. They approached the short cliff, which appeared to an easy climb, when Lilly stopped suddenly. "Kara come stand next to my left. " Kara, clearly still distrustful of Lilly, didn't move at first. "Please Kara, just come over here."

Once Kara finally came over to Lilly's left, Lilly spoke again. "Will, play the melody that your grandmother taught you."

Will had no idea why Lilly wanted him to play Lola's Melody, but he figured she knew something he didn't. He pulled out his flute and played the melody. After he finished the song, Lilly mumbled a few words to herself. Within seconds, a blinding flash surrounded all three of them. The blinding light lasted about seven or eight seconds, and then it started to subside. When it finally did, the three found themselves standing in a mountain village.

"Were you surprised?" Lilly asked Kara and Will. "This village is surrounded by a barrier that hides it from the outside world. The song that Will played is the key to passing through the barrier. We're now in Itory Village, my hometown."

Kara and Will looked incredulously at Lilly, then at each other. Lilly broke the awkward silence by walking over to the right down a grassy path. Kara and Will followed her down the path over to a wooden fence. Beyond the fence was a nicely constructed log cabin, and in the yard stood Grandpa Bill and Grandma Lola! Upon seeing his grandparents, Will immediately rushed over to the fence surrounding the yard.

"Will, thank goodness you're safe." Grandma Lola said.

"So you were able to escape the castle prison? Good, good." Grandpa Bill said.

"What happened back at the house?" Will asked, grasping for the first thing he could think of.

"It was terrible, a hunter and his minions came after us!" Grandpa Bill said.

Lola turned to her husband. "Grandpa panicked. I destroyed their digestion with a poisoned marsupial pie. Then I ran away."

"Well, its good that we're all here together, inside the protection of Itory." Grandpa Bill said. "Lilly, thank you for leading Will here. I didn't realize that Princess Kara came too."

"We didn't ask her to come along." Lilly said, almost condescendingly. "Anyway, this is my house. I'm going inside, the entrance is right over here on the right. Lilly started toward the entrance, and was followed by Kara. Will remained with his grandparents.

"My friend Lance mentioned something about two of the soldiers staggering out of the house after you, and that they had probably been attacked. What exactly happened in the house?" Will asked.

"Well they started tearing things up looking for your father's crystal ring, the one that doesn't exist. Then when they didn't find it, that's when they went after us." Lola said. Like I said, I fed two of them some pie, and that was the end of them. But the leader, he got away."

"How exactly did you get all the way up here? You two didn't walk all the way here did you?"

"We got some help from the Elder." Bill said. "He helped us through the barrier and got us here safely. He's over on the other side of town. I suggest you see him Will, he's got some useful information for you."

Lola shook her head in agreement with Bill. Will left the house and started walking northbound, past a few more log cabins. Before long he came to a stone structure of some kind on the north side of the city. Next to it the land dropped off dramatically, straight down into a canyon that split the village of Itory in two. There appeared to be a sort of ramp that sloped upward near the final drop off into the canyon. But when Will looked around, he noticed something strange. Inside the stone structure was a glowing white ball of light. Intrigued, Will approched the ball and it turned into a dark gateway. Without thinking, Will walked into the gateway. The time and space around him seemed to contort for a few seconds, and then it settled. He stood inside a dark space, with two statues in front of him. One in the center of a being he had never seen before, and one of himself. The statue of himself was holding another ball of light, this one light blue. Will walked in front of it and the ball of light flowed straight down to him. He held it in his hand. As he did so, the statue in the middle bellowed, "Psycho Dash can now be used."

Will turned around abruptly. The statue continued. "Only Will can use the Psycho Dash. This ability can be used to attack and to break down walls with cracks and bulges. Use the flute to save energy."

Will immediately walked in front of the talking statue in the middle. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I am Gaia, the source of all life. I provide the life force for all beings in this world. Only chosen people of destiny can see me and this dark space. I will help you on your journey by comforting your weariness, providing you with secret abilities and giving you advice. A great evil threatens. You must use your strength at all times. Will, we will meet again."

Will looked at Gaia incredulously. Then he turned around and left the dark space. Within seconds, he re-materialized in Itory Village where he had entered a few minutes earlier. Gaia freaked him out a bit, but at least he had received a new ability as a result of his curiosity. He didn't think this to be too bad.

Just as Will was examining his surroundings again, a villager came up to him. "You're not from around here are you?" the villager asked.

"Uh, I'm looking for the Elder." Will responded, not really knowing what to say.

"The Elder? He's over on the other side of town. See that hill there and that ramp over there? Run down the hill at full speed and you'll reach the other side. You'll be surprised. It's the breath of the spirits."

It sounded absolutely crazy, for the canyon was wide, at least one hundred yards wide. Unless there was some serious wind at his back, he would never make it. Still, Will had seen some very strange phenomena on his adventures, and this was no different. He readied himself, then tore down the hill as fast as his feet could take him. He hit the grassy incline hard and leapt into the air. As he got into the air, he felt a massive gust of wind sweep him off his feet. The wind combined with his forward momentum carried him across the canyon to the other side, where he landed in a flower patch. Will rolled through the landing and picked himself up quickly. There were few houses if any on this east side of the canyon, compared with the assortment of log cabins and sod houses on the west side. Will needed to find the Elder though.

Just as started to investigate the bramble around him, Will heard a voice. "I've been waiting for you. I'm here, just old, the spirit of the flowers protect me." Will turned around and behind him stood the Elder. His figure appeared that of an old, wise man. He was very pale and perhaps somewhat milky in tone. "So you wonder why you've been summoned to Itory?"

"All I know is that my grandparents are safe." Will said.

"Your grandparents lived in this village for a long time. Your mother grew up here."

"Really?" Will asked. "She never told me that."

"Oh yes, she was a lovely young woman. She also had some strange powers. All people of the Itory tribe had a strange power, but Shira's [Will's mother] was especially strong. She made a barrier to hide the town, but your father came through it easily. Come to think of it, he was unusual too. Say, your father summoned you to the ancient ruins of the world. The Incan Ruins are in the mountains not far from here. The Inca were a people that did not have a written language, instead their writings are recorded in sound. They have a riddle that has not been broken in over a thousand years. Will, have you come to help your father?"

Will's answer was quick. "Yes."

"Good, that fulfills Lola's prophecy." The Elder said. "Do you plan to go?" he asked.

"Yes." Will answered.

"Good, I will entrust you with the first Incan Statue. It is in the cave below. If you find the statue, I will tell you more of the Incan legend. At any rate, go take a look in the cave."

It didn't take Will long to find the Incan Statue. The cave was wide open without much of anything inside it, but there was a wide crack in the rock wall in the back. He saw this as a great oppurtunity to use the Psycho Dash, if nothing else just to see if it worked. Will charged up energy, then dashed toward the crack. He easily broke through the crack and blew away part of the wall. Beyond the crack was a pedestal where the statue stood. He claimed it quickly and went out of the cave, completely satisfied by how well his new ability worked. Once out, he climbed a ladder that led back to the bramble where the Elder was. The Elder told him more of the Incan riddle, confiding that there were actually two Incan Statues. The second statue was held by the Moon Tribe, a race of spirits that lived in the mountains to the northeast of Itory. Then the Elder told him the secret to solving the riddle.

"Place the statues on the Larai Cliff, where the breath of the spirits cannot reach. The wind in the valley will lead you to the [Incan] Gold Ship."

It was legend that a great pall of darkness had fallen over the land of the Inca, and that they had built a ship made of gold in order to flee the darkness. Nobody knew whether the ship actually existed, but adventurers from all walks of life had attempted to find the Incan Gold Ship, including Will's father Olman. Many of these expeditions had ended in tragedy, yet the ship was still to many a grand relic of the ancient world, yet to be unearthed by modern man.

Using another hill and the wind to carry himself back across the canyon, Will darted back to the east side of the village. He wasn't sure if the Gold Ship existed, but for some strange reason, he trusted the Elder. After all, he told stories of his father and mother that he himself had never been told. There was no doubt that he was telling the truth. At the moment though, Will's focus was not on the Incan Ruins, but it was instead on the Moon Tribe Camp. In order to crack the riddle of the Inca, Will needed the other Incan Statue from the Moon Tribe. He walked back into the house and went over to Lilly.

"So did you see the Elder?" Lilly asked.

"Yes, I found this statue in the cave underneath. It's a statue of the Inca." Will said. "The Elder says that the Moon Tribe has the other statue."

"What? Moon Tribe?" Lilly answered. "Well, not really a tribe, more like a evolved group of spirits. They live on in the mountains about a half day from here. Are you ready to go?" Lilly asked.

"Yes." Will answered.

Kara interjected. "Don't forget about me. I'm coming too! I want to see the Moon Tribe! Since I'm out of the castle now, I want to see and hear everything!"

"No, its far too dangerous for a princess." Lilly said.

Kara had heard this line from Lilly before, and now she was losing her patience. "I always seem to be the one left out. So I'll go talk to Grandma Lola! Nyaaa!" she shouted as she ran out of the room.

"She's sulking," Will said softly.

"It's good medicine for a selfish girl." Lilly said. "The mountain pass will be difficult but let's do the best we can."

They were on their way to the Moon Tribe Camp.


	7. The Moon Tribe Camp

**Chapter 7: The Moon Tribe Camp**

Day 8 -

Will and Lilly had been traveling for much of the morning. They had left Itory Village the previous afternoon, and walked up a mountainous path until darkness. After taking refuge in a cave-like dome in the rock that night, they continued the journey the next morning. By this time they were quite high up in the mountains, high enough that Will was breathing pretty hard. Although he had adventured near and far, coming from sea level, the one thing that seemed to get him was high elevation. His breath was audible as he walked forward.

"How much farther is it?" Will asked.

"Don't tell me you're getting tired already." Lilly said with a bit of sass. "It's just a little farther now."

Will didn't even give Lilly a look. She was a trouper, of that Will was certain. Back in South Cape, the women didn't adventure around much, and those that did were generally much more fragile and soft than Lilly. Will was glad that he had met somebody of similar age that could adventure as well as him. By this time, Will and Lilly had stepped off the trail and onto a small, grassy plateau. Just as Will began to move to the other edge of the plateau, he noticed that Lilly had stopped in her tracks.

"Will, I think I just heard something." Lilly said.

"What are you talking about? There's nobody here." Will said.

"Good evening, out for a stroll?" a voice chimed.

Now Will knew what Lilly was talking about. "Who are you?" Will asked.

"Up, up, this body is lighter than air." the voice responded.

"Are you an old man's ghost playing a trick on us?" Will asked.

"Wrong! Actually, we are the moon tribe, better known as the "tribe of shadows."

Just then, a whole bunch of ghost-like shadows emerged, all around the plateau. They had a pale consistency to them, and their bodies had been warped in such a way that their limbs were hardly discernible.

"Welcome to the Moon Tribe Camp." Lilly said to Will.

Will didn't immediately answer. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. Lilly had led him to a plateau filled with ghosts! If it was true that these ghostly figures held the second Incan Statue, Will wanted to find it and get the heck out of the area. "What happened to you?" Will asked one of the shadowy figures.

"Ku, ku, ku. We lived for many years on this land. But we have bathed in the light of a comet. It comes once every 800 years, ku. When you are inside the comet's light, all evolution speeds up to the point where years take minutes. Our forms have evolved to what you see here. The light of the comet has begun to spread to other parts of the Earth and is getting stronger."

Will was quite surprised by what he had heard. Even worse to him, Lilly looked to have a puzzled look on her face. "What's wrong Lilly?" Will asked.

"The light of a comet. Very strange." Lilly said.

"Yeah, just like the rest of this place. I say we find the Incan Statue." Will said. He moved over to another shadowy spirit and asked where it was.

"We have lived long and well, ku ku." the spirit said. "We have witnessed the building and the destruction of the Incan Empire. The Incan Statue was entrusted to us by the last of the Incan rulers. At any rate, go take a look in the cave down there, ku."

"I'll wait here." Lilly said near the cave entrance.

Will entered the cave. Upon doing so, he saw some giant centipede-like bugs near the back of the cave. The Incan Statue stood on top of a giant pedestal in the center of the cave, certainly too high for him to reach. Suddenly he heard the Moon Tribe spirit talk again. "This is the final form of those bathed in the light of the comet. The light has warped their hearts and turned them into demons. If you can destroy all of them within 60 seconds then I'll grant you the Incan Statue."

The time started when Will took his first step forward. He drew his flute and attacked the first centipede ruthlessly, killing it easily. He then moved on to the second one, then the third. Before long, he was down to one centipede remaining. But as he was about to strike it with his flute, it curled up in a ball and lunged right at him. The bug nailed him right in the stomach and knocked him down. It took Will a while to get to his feet, the bug was much heavier than expected and it had knocked his wind out a bit. He composed himself and moved toward the centipede again. It attempted to roll at him again, but this time Will was prepared. He dodged the attack as he heard the spirit start to count down from 10. He was running out of time! Will knew he had to take a chance to gain the Incan Statue. He ran straight at the centipede, expecting it to roll at him again. It did, and Will swung his flute hard, smacking it backward. The bug exploded upon impact with the back wall of the cave.

"Ku ku ku, very good. Then I'll give you the Incan Statue." the spirit said. As the spirit spoke, a stairway up the giant pedestal appeared. Will walked up the staircase and grabbed the statue.

"Very good, you've got the statue." Lilly said. "There are two statues, shall we proceed to the Incan Ruins?"

"Yes." Will responded. "I don't know where my father is, or what the ruins have to do with his survival, but I'll do anything to help him. You can't understand it until you lose your parents."

"True. Let's get to the ruins." Lilly said.


	8. The Incan Ruins

**Chapter 8: The Incan Ruins**

Day 9 -

Will and Lilly continued their march through the mountains of northern West Gondwanaland, eastward toward the Incan Ruins. Day passed into night, and night passed into day. The terrain was fairly rough, rougher than Will had ever experienced in his life. In his travels, he had seen rivers, hills, oceans, islands, and many other landforms. But mountains were something completely different. With every step Will struggled to breathe, and his legs burned from the exertion of climbing through the rocky terrain.

After a while, they came to a pass in the mountain range. Lilly led Will down the hill leading to the pass. Once there, Lilly started to walk farther ahead toward the other side of the range. Will stopped her.

"Hold on Lilly. It's late, we should stop here."

"Will, its not much farther. We could be there in a few hours time." said Lilly.

"I can't even feel my legs anymore. My breath is completely gone. I have to tell you Lilly, your people are very skilled in this mountainous terrain. I have much to learn about it."

"Well, if you insist, we can make camp here." Lilly said. "But we're moving again at the crack of dawn."

A few hours passed. The two sat on a pair of round rocks and looked at the stars. There were many stars, for it was a clear night. All of them glow a bright white, save one in the middle of the sky that was a red so clear that Will imagined it to be a giant fireball.

"Lilly, what exactly did the Elder mean when he talked of the breath of the spirits? It sounded pretty strange to me." Will said.

"There is a fierce wind throughout the Incan Ruins." Lilly said. "The people of Itory Village believe the wind is the breath of the Incan gods. Long ago, there was a great battle between the Inca and a rival tribe. The legend says that the gods produced a wind so strong that it swept the opposing tribe right off the mountain. Ever since then, the Incan wind has been greatly deified."

"What does it have to do with the Incan Statues I found in Itory Village and the Moon Tribe Camp?"

"Well, there is one cliff near the bottom of the mountain where the breath of the spirits cannot reach. That's where the statues are said to belong."

"Is it true that there is a gold ship at the ruins?" Will asked, his voice fading a bit.

"It's unknown. The Inca were said to have once abandoned the mountains and set sail for somewhere aboard a ship made of gold. Many explorers have attempted to find the ship and become rich off of its treasure, but so far none have found it. It is said that by solving the riddle of the Incan Statues one can find the ship."

"That's...peachy." Will said hazily as he collapsed in a heap. Within seconds, he was asleep.

"Sea folk. As soon as they see mountains they just break." Lilly said to herself.

Day 10 -

The next morning, Will and Lilly traveled over more treacherous mountains. Before long they started to come across the remains of ancient buildings and statues lying on the cliff tops. A few minutes later, they reached the top of another mountain. Atop the mountain stood several crumbling buildings, which appeared to be houses or some sort of living quarters rotting away in the rock.

Lilly led Will over toward the cliff edge. "Take a look down there Will."

Will looked over the edge and noticed an almost straight drop down of massive proportions. It had to be at least five thousand feet, maybe even more than that. Out in the distance, it was possible to see the ocean, sprawled out beyond the land below. Down on the terraces below, Will could see more of the Incan statues and sculptures he saw earlier, except that these were even more detailed. They were beautiful.

"The statues down on the terraces." Will said.

"Welcome to the ruins of the Inca." Lilly said. He turned around and faced Lilly. "This is the site of a once great civilization, one that lived for over a thousand years. Legend has it that there is a great riddle of the Inca, one that has not been solved since the destruction of the civilization. The Elder has summoned you here, I wonder what he wants you to do."

The two approached the entrance to the ruins. When they got there, a surprise visitor was waiting for them.

"You're so mean! Leaving me behind!" Kara shouted from behind a rock.

"Kara!" Lilly shouted. "What are you doing here? It's too dangerous for princesses!"

"I can't help it. I can't just sit around and eat while Will is out there working so hard. I'm waiting for Will to return [from the ruins]."

Lilly gave a flustered look in Kara's direction, no doubt flabbergasted that she had come through the mountains herself. Then she turned back to Will "Well Will, as the Elder said. Put the statues on the Larai Cliff, where the breath of the spirits can't reach. The wind in the valley will lead you to the Incan Gold Ship."

Will turned around and entered the ruins.

As soon as Will entered Larai Cliff, he immediately got hit with a big burst of wind from the left. The wind had to be blowing at least forty, fifty miles per hour. "There is a strong wind at the Larai Cliff, that must have been what the Elder meant by the breath of the spirits." Crossing a bridge, Will entered a cave on the right. Inside the cave was a rocky path leading through a stalagmite-filled ground. There were also demons inside the cave. Unlike the ones in Edward Castle which were skeleton-like on the outside, these demons had plenty of meat on their bones and had a fuzzy exterior. When Will attacked one with his flute, it ran after him angrily. It punched him in the arm. Will shook it off and attacked again. It charged again, but this time he was prepared and struck it in the stomach, defeating it. Will collected the dark gem it dropped and continued forward. Several more demons emerged farther up the cave path. Will decided to bait the monsters toward him and then trip them to the floor. The strategy worked, as the demons rushed Will he nailed two of them with a flute to the knee. Another simply stumbled over Will's left leg as he went to the ground. Once down, the demons had difficulty getting up, and Will easily did away with them.

Following this encounter, the road split into two directions, one leading back out onto Larai Cliff, the other leading deeper into the mountain behind a thick patch of stalagmites. Will picked the path leading outside. Once outside, he noticed a treasure chest on the left. Two giant centipedes guarded the chest. The bugs were not unlike the ones he saw at the Moon Tribe Camp. He quickly disposed of the insect demons and opened the chest. Inside there was a blue diamond-shaped block. Not sure what this block was for, Will traversed back through the cave until he reached the thick stalagmites blocking the road. Unsure of how to get around them initially, he noticed a diamond-shaped hole in the ground with a switch underneath. Putting two and two together, Will placed the block into the hole. There was a sudden thud in the cave, and heavy blocks of granite fell from the ceiling, crushing the stalagmites and opening a path across. Will took the path, which eventually led out to a lower terrace of the Larai Cliff.

He continued to climb down the cliff, until he reached the edge of the grassy terrace. Figuring the only way down was to simply jump, he leapt downward to the next terrace below. There stood another entrance into the mountain. Will ventured into the cave. Inside stood a brilliant Incan temple, complete with columns made of gold, and golden statues of Incan warriors lining the row of rocks leading into the temple. At the base of the temple in front of the entranceway were four large golden plates on the ground. The entranceway itself was sewn shut.

Having never seen such riches in his life, Will moved forward toward one of the statues. But unexpectedly, as he came within arms reach, the statue began to change color. Within seconds, the statue had turned from gold to a pale white and had come to life! It swung its metal spear menacingly toward Will. Surprised by the transformation, Will stepped backward quickly. The Inca warrior threw his spear at him. Will dodged underneath it, and drew his flute. Before he could get off the ground though, the Inca kicked him in the face. Later, he got behind him and punched away at his back. Once he had been worn down a bit, the warrior then tried to grapple him but he reversed it and slammed his flute right into the side of the Inca's head. The warrior slumped over temporarily, enough time for Will to snap the warrior's head with his flute. The Inca collapsed in a heap on the rocks.

His back was shooting with pain and he was sweating hard. Scared by the encounter with the un-statuelike Inca, Will's instincts were telling him to turn back. But remembering what his father told him about the ruins, he fought through the fear and pondered the situation. Reaching for his flute, he started to twirl it while facing one of the remaining Inca warrior statues. Suddenly, the statue he was facing moved. He noticed that his telekenetic powers were capable of moving the statues. Will turned his attention toward the four golden stones in front of the entranceway. Within seconds he was moving the statues into position, and before long he had moved them all onto stones 1, 2, and 3. Will quickly ran over to stone 4 and jumped onto it. The entranceway opened instantly.

Beyond the entranceway was a dark path that seemed to u-turn. The path led into a room with literally hundreds of golden stones on the ground. They were assembled in a square pattern. Will was on the stairs leading down to the golden stones when he heard a familiar voice inside his head. "Play the Melody of the Wind," it said to him. A strange melody of sorts began to play in his head. When it concluded, the voice beckoned him to play it on his flute.

"Very odd, that sounded like my mother." Will thought to himself. He thought about it for a minute, then proceeded to play the melody on his flute. Once he completed playing it, one of the stones on the floor started to glow, sending a bright light through the fairly dark cave. He stepped on the glowing stone, revealing an entranceway that led back out onto Larai Cliff. Back on the cliff, Will noticed he was on an even lower terrace than before, and that the wind had died down considerably. In fact, there was hardly any wind at all. Will instantly realized that he had found the place were the spirits' breath could not reach. And just as the Elder told him, ahead were two stone pedestals, ostensibly the resting spots for the Incan Statues he had collected.

He was but seconds away from solving a thousand-year-old mystery.


	9. Battle For the Gold Ship

**Chapter 9: Battle for the Gold Ship**

Will placed the first of the Incan Statues on the first pedestal. Then he placed the second statue on the second pedestal. As soon as he did, he had a loud noise echo throughout Larai Cliff. Within several seconds, the wind began to kick up and swirl around the canyon. Not really sure what it all meant at first, Will remembered the elder's words.

"The wind in the valley will lead you to the Gold Ship."

After several seconds more, the wind settled on a constant direction, leading out over a valley to Will's right. The wind started blowing harder and harder, until it was blowing hard enough that Will could hardly stand. He looked out over the valley to an adjacent terrace on the other side. It was quite a way away, but with the wind blowing so hard, it was his only chance. He made a run for the edge of the terrace and leaped out over the valley, just as he had done in Itory Village several days before. This time, the wind gusted so hard while airborne that he almost overshot the terrace completely. He landed hard on his right shoulder. Luckily the grass was softer on this terrace than others on the Larai Cliff. Will got up slowly to notice a cave entrance in front of him. Strangely, upon landing the wind had died down to very slight breeze again. The Elder's prophesy was coming true. Could there really be a huge ship made out of gold up ahead? He entered the cave.

The cave led him into a dark tunnel that led downward. Before long, Will came to another open doorway. Before that was a glowing orb, just like the one Will had seen in Itory Village. It signified a dark space. Inside the dark space, he immediately noticed Gaia, the guardian spirit of life as the middle statue. However, there was another statue to his left. It was a statue of a knight.

"It looks as if you are hurt. Close your eyes." Gaia said to Will. After comforting his weariness, Gaia spoke again. "I will give you some advice. The dark knight Freedan will be able to help you in the coming battle ahead. You should stand in front of the statue to your left and become one with the dark knight. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Will answered.

"Then go." Gaia responded.

Will moved in front of the statue of Freedan, the dark knight. He heard a voice in his head. "I have been waiting for you to come. Like the light of a comet, darkness is eternal. I am Freedan, I am eternal. I have come to help you in your journeys. Whenever a battle is forthcoming, stand in front of my statue and you shall receive my power. Will, close your eyes."

Will didn't know what was going to happen next, but he figured Freedan to be allied with Gaia in some way. How or why he did not know but at this moment that information was immaterial. Will closed his eyes. Almost instantly, he felt woozy, as if he was having an out of body experience. His sense of touch and smell seemed to leave him. Finally, after about ten seconds he started to feel better. The voice prompted him to open his eyes. When he did, he noticed his shape had changed. He was now wearing a freshly shined sheet of armor and was holding a sword that shined bright as day. He had become one with the dark knight.

Upon leaving the dark space, Freedan moved into the open doorway. Inside the doorway stood a room so vast, it resembled an ancient Incan city. There were houses made out of stone, roads paved with marbled rocks, and a grand temple tucked behind a giant hole in the rock that stood in the exact center of the abandoned city. He made his way over to the hole in the center and noticed that it was glowing red inside, perhaps with molten lava. Suddenly, the doors to the room slammed shut behind him, and a monstrous demon crawled out of the central hole in the rock. The demon had a gigantic head and two big paws that gripped the edges of the rock. Freedan drew his sword and watched as the demon shook his right paw at him. Freedan swung away as it approached him and slashed it on the lower palm. The right paw fell back into the rock, and the demon swung the left paw his way. After gashing the left paw, Freedan noticed the demon's nose began to glow. Figuring that this was the demon's weak point, Freedan swung away hard at the nose, a dangerous task since he had to reach out over the giant hole just to reach the target.

Freedan knew that his attacks were doing damage, because with every stroke the demon started squirming around. Then it suddenly starting shaking violently before firing out several beams of electromagnetic field from its head. Not expecting this attack, Freedan got knocked off his feet and zapped. After the last beam passed, the paws reappeared. In a bit of pain, he continued his attack pattern until the nose started glowing again. This time, Freedan didn't hold back, unloading with all the fury of a thousand Incan soldiers. Before long, the demon was reeling back into the giant hole from which he came, dead.

Gaia's voice sounded in the room. "When the demons have been defeated, Will can return to his original form." Freedan began to feel woozy as his senses left him once again. The transformation complete, Will looked around for an exit out of the ancient city. A previously closed door behind the giant hole was now open, and he went through it. But the room was booby-trapped; as soon as he entered the floor gave way beneath him. He was falling, falling, falling.

The next thing Will knew, he was standing on a wooden deck. Light began to pour into the cave. Gold gleamed all around him. He had found the Incan Gold Ship! Not only that, but there were several Inca people standing over to his left near the mast. Trying to contain his sudden excitement, he went over toward one of them, who exclaimed, "Look! The King has returned! And he's much shorter!" Befuddled by this comment, Will went over to another Inca on the second floor deck. Before he could say anything, the Inca said to him. "King you've returned. Now we can set sail!"

"I'm the king?"

"The queen is waiting for you in the throne room inside. You should go see her immediately." the Inca said.

"Queen? Yes, the Inca Queen." Will thought to himself. "Surely she will know that I'm not the King of the Inca."

He passed two more Inca and a bunk bed on the first basement of the ship before reaching the throne room. The Queen of the Inca sat on the right throne. Nobody was seated in the left throne. "Good, you have returned safely." the Queen said.

Will's heart sank. He wanted to believe this was some kind of perverted joke, but evidently it was not. They all thought he was King of the Inca, even the Queen.

"As promised," the Inca Queen continued, "I have guarded the Mystic Statue of the Wind until your arrival. It is in a jewel box down below, please take it."

Happy to get away from a very awkward conversation, Will went down to the second basement and found a treasure chest on the right. Inside the chest was a reddish ceramic statue, not bigger than a foot tall. If this indeed was the mystic statue, it didn't look like anything valuable. But he remembered his father's words.

"Beginning now you will embark on a journey to the ruins of the ancient world to find the mystic statues. These statues are the key to saving me. There are 6 of them in total, one in each ruin."

With the mystic statue in hand, Will went back up to deck and climbed up into the crow's nest of the ship. There was an Inca in the nest. "Oh short King, look there, the ship is coming out of the cave!" Indeed, the dim light began to get brighter and brighter, and before long a deep blue sky filled the heavens, and deep blue water filled the sea below. "It's so beautiful." the Inca said, almost in tears. "After months and years in the darkness, to see the ship set sail is truly beautiful."

Will eventually got down from the crow's nest and re-entered the ship below deck. It was only early evening, but he was exhausted from his ordeal in the ruins. An Inca next to the bunk beds agreed. "It's hard, but please do try to get some rest." Will climbed up to the top bunk and fell fast asleep. While asleep, he had a dream...


	10. Shipwreck!

**Chapter 10: Shipwreck!**

A haze surrounded Will. He recognized a building of some kind. It was his house. Not only that, he was upstairs. Why was he in his house, upstairs? Looking out the window, it appeared to be a cloudy, hazy day. The sky was a bright orange. Perhaps it was late in the afternoon. He looked at the wall, remembering the spot where the Jackal had written his note. It was no longer there, replaced by a picture of his mother and father. A voice called to Will from downstairs. It sounded like the same voice that called to him in the Incan Ruins. It was the sound of his mother. Will went downstairs, and sure enough his mother Shira was standing in the kitchen. She appeared to be preparing a meal of some kind.

She turned to speak to him. "Everywhere you look, the stars in the sky shine brightly. The sky is said to be filled with the light of a comet. Some say that the comet is an unlucky star, others say that it is a lucky star. Will, what do you think?"

Will thought for a moment, remembering the conversation with the Moon Tribe about how the comet's light was speeding up evolution. "I think it is unlucky."

"Okay, then hope that bad luck doesn't come." Shira said. "Will, remember that I will always watch over you."

As his mother said this, his vision was starting to cloud. "Were you calling out to me in the Inca Ruins?" he asked quickly. Before he could get a response, she was gone, and his house faded to black.

"Will! Wake up!" a voice shouted.

Will rubbed his eyes and looked over the side of the bunk bed. To his surprise, Lance and Lilly were standing next to the bunk. "How did you two find me?" Will asked them.

"Will, you were gone for so long." Lilly said. "We had the Elder read your fortune. He said you were floating alone on the sea. I was so surprised."

"We traveled from South Cape to a strange village." Lance said.

"Wait, don't call it strange." Lilly interjected. "I was born there."

"It was invisible." Lance continued. "I'd call that pretty strange. Will, since we're friends, we have to stick together, during good times and bad."

Wondering how Lance and Lilly were able to find the Gold Ship, Will scurried down the bunk and out to the deck. As he moved out toward the deck, he noticed a human skeleton on the wooden planks. The sight of the skeleton coupled with his friends' sudden emergence had Will a bit on the edgy side. Seth and Erik were out on the deck, Seth near the bottom of the crow's nest, Erik near the ladder to the second deck. Erik was surprised to see Will. "Oh, its you Will. Don't scare me like that!" he said as Will passed by him. Shrugging Erik off, Will went over to Seth.

"I found this in one of the cargo holds. I think you'll find good use for it." Seth handed Will a red jewel, his 10th of the journey. Will looked incredulously at Seth, then returned below deck. If all his friends from South Cape, plus Lilly were here, that meant that Kara was probably there as well. He went down to the Inca throne room. As soon as he entered the room, he spotted Kara standing in front of several more skeletons, including the partially mummified remains of the Inca Queen still sitting in the chair. Now Will wanted answers, and he didn't care if he had to press Kara to get them. "What's going on here?" Will asked her.

"The Queen's mummy sleeps silently. She has a light blue ring on her cold, bony finger." Kara said.

Lilly walked into the room from the right. "The Inca must have passed away waiting for the King's return. That ring on the Queen's finger must be a great Incan treasure."

"The ring looks so pretty and shiny, I really must have it." Kara said as she grabbed it from the Queen's skeleton.

"Have you no shame!" Lilly shouted. "You could be cursed!"

As soon as Lilly finished her sentence, there was a great bang on the starboard side of the ship. Lilly started shouting at Kara as the banging got louder and stronger. The three quickly moved back up to deck to find out what was going on. Will ran out onto the deck and quickly found Lance and Erik near the bottom of the crow's nest.

"What is that banging?" Will asked Erik.

"I don't see Seth. Where's Seth?" Lance asked anxiously.

"Aaah! It's Seth!" Erik yelled. "A huge gigantic fish ran into the side of the ship. Seth fell into the water! He was swallowed!" Erik had tears coming from his eyes and he was on the verge of hyperventilating. As Will attempted to console Erik, there was another strong bang against the port side of the ship. "Aaah! It's that fish again. We'll all be dessert!" Erik yelled.

"Hurry up and grab this!" Lance yelled as he tossed Erik a padded life preserver. Will attempted to grab another preserver on the wall of port side, but the banging and shaking became so strong that Will was knocked to the ground. Pieces of the ship were falling off. As Will attempted to get to his feet, a big wooden plank knocked him in the head, knocking him senseless.

Day 11 -

When he came to, Will was lying on a small wooden raft with a small sail. On the other side of the raft was Kara. He had a big headache, just staying conscious was a struggle. "Good to see you've come to. How are you feeling?" Kara said.

"I'm still really stiff." Will said.

"Of course, that shipwreck knocked you out for almost a day." Kara said. "We're adrift on the sea." Will didn't think much about his surroundings, and passed out again a few minutes later. He was too tired to think about the predicament they were now in.

Day 12 -

"I'm hungry." Kara said. "How about we eat the meat we brought from Edward Castle."

Will reached into his sack, which miraculously survived the shipwreck. He found the two remaining legs of meat that he had saved from their castle escape. As they ate, Will finally felt good again. He could tell Kara was really enjoying the food as well. "That was the best meat I've ever had." Will said. "I think so too." Kara responded.

Day 14 -

It was their fourth day adrift at sea. Food was starting to run a bit short, as was water. Will's strength, which had returned just a few days ago, was starting to seep away from him yet again. Across the raft, Kara seemed to be much more entertained with watching the schools of fish swim by. "Beautiful. Every time I look at the fish, the more beautiful they look. Come and sit, let's watch the fish together Will." Will sat down, but as he continued to watch the fish swim by, he couldn't help but notice how hungry he was getting. He took his flute and smacked one of the fish as it was swimming by in an attempt to catch it. "What are you doing! The poor fish!" Kara shouted in response. Will was exasperated at Kara's behavior.

Day 16 -

It was near sunset. The days were long and the nights were even longer. Will wondered if they would ever survive the monotony, much less the threat of starvation and death at sea.

Suddenly, something perked Kara's attention. "Look! Will, over there!" she shouted. Will looked out to the north where Kara was pointing and noticed a jar floating in the water. The jar floated over to their raft. Inspecting the jar, Will found a note inside. The note read, "My name is Sam. We natives are being forced to work as laborers in an unknown land. If anybody reads this, please save us. Sam."

"Such a terrible note. I'm hungry." Kara said.

"You should have caught that fish back there!" Will shouted.

"I can't hurt such a pretty fish." Kara said.

Now Will was angry. "Are you saying its better to starve?" he shouted.

"I can't help it." she responded. "Fish feel pain! Have you ever thought about how the fish feels? I'm going to sit over there by myself."

Kara didn't say a word the rest of the day. Clearly, Kara's actions were very selfish, and yet Will wondered privately if she was just as hungry as he was.

Day 18 -

Will was losing strength very quickly. He hadn't eaten in two whole days, and the sun was especially strong. It was wearing on him. Taking his flute, he skewered a fish through the mouth. Without thinking about anything, he took a bite out of the raw fish and chewed. It didn't taste very good, but Will didn't care. He was to the point where he would eat anything. Taking his flute again, he grabbed another fish. Then another. A whole school continued to swim through the area, and Will continued to catch and eat. Before long, he had many fish flopping around on the raft. Kara turned to Will, seeing the fish he had caught. "Sorry about the way I talked to you yesterday. I'll eat the fish. I don't want to eat it, but I'll do anything not to starve."

"Let's catch a fish, a big one." Will said.

Kara took Will's flute, then handed it back to him, preferring to use her bare hands. Will, half expecting her to fall off the raft into the water, was surprised to see her grab a fish and raise it from the water. The move was pleasingly uncharacteristic of her. As she started to eat, Will realized that he was starting to develop feelings for Kara.

Day 22 -

It was a dark starry night. Will and Kara stood together underneath the stars.

"The stars are so beautiful." Kara said. "I wish I could reach out and touch them. See that one over there, the bright red one? It's a special star. We should make a wish upon that star."

Will thought for a minute, then looked up at the bright red star amid all the standard white ones. "I wish for everybody's safety, and for my father." Will said. Kara looked into Will's eyes as she made her wish.

Day 28 -

Nearly three weeks had passed since the shipwreck of the Incan Gold Ship. It was another beautiful day. But over to the east, Kara spotted trouble. "What, Will come quick!" Shark fins began to surround their raft. Kara started to freak out as Will quickly threatened her to stay quiet. The sharks continued to surround their raft for several minutes, during which Will and Kara pondered their situation.

"I get it! They're not hungry." Kara said excitedly. "Sharks aren't like humans. Humans tend to attack living things when they're not hungry."

Will looked at Kara incredulously. "Then what we've been doing is not normal human behavior. We didn't eat any fish until we were starving!"

Kara looked back at the pack of sharks. "That's it, they're leaving! Good bye sharks!" she shouted.

Day 31 -

It was nearly sunset. "When I was in the castle." Kara said. "I would always watch the sun set. The sunset was so beautiful from the corner of the castle. But now I've come to hate it. Everything I used to love about the castle I cannot stand any longer. But at least with you I get to see a beautiful sunrise every day."

Kara turned away from Will to the left. She noticed something interesting, part of the sun was getting covered up by the horizon, yet it wasn't touching the water yet that she could see. Could it be?

"Land!" she shouted. "Oh Will, there's land out there. We're going to be saved!"

Kara heard a mumbling behind her, followed by a loud thud on the other side of the raft. Will had fallen down. Worse yet, he didn't respond to her asking him if he was all right. "Will! Will wake up! Will we've almost reached land, don't leave me here alone!"


	11. From Oakton to Freejia

**Chapter 11: From Oakton to Freejia**

Day 32 -

"You can wake him up now."

Kara moved over toward Will and nudged him gently. So much had gone through Kara's mind over the last few hours. Her brain hurt from all the strain.

"He should be fine as long as he takes vitamin C. It's scurvy, a disease caused by a long-term lack of vitamin C. Columbus's crew contracted it once. When it gets worse, the gums bleed and hair falls out. The skin turns black, and the body starts decaying."

"Stop, stop, please I don't want to hear any more!" Kara shouted toward the man.

"Hehe, well at least you're okay." he said.

"Will, Will! Wake up we're saved!" she yelled.

Will rose quite groggily from the bed. "Huh, where are we?"

"We're at the house of the kind man that saved us." Kara said.

"This is the south outskirts of Oakton." the man told Will. "I've heard that you've been separated from several of your friends. The city of Freejia lies about a half a day to the north. If you are looking for your friends, you should look in a big town. You should thank the dog outside the house. He was the one who saw your raft and came to get me."

Will climbed gingerly out of the bed. Shortly after doing so, him and Kara left the house and went to thank the dog. It was a medium sized brown terrier with a tail constantly wagging. "His name's Turbo. Isn't he cute?" Kara asked. Not waiting for an answer, Kara continued. "Well, maybe we should get going to Freejia. Who knows, maybe we'll see Lance, Lilly, and Erik." Will didn't count on it, but if they were able to escape the shipwreck, then it was certainly possible that his three good friends were able to as well. The two started to walk slowly through the village of Oakton, a hamlet so tiny that it made South Cape look like a bustling metropolis. After about a quarter mile or so, the two were out of the village and on a flat dirt trail heading northbound away from the ocean. In his still weakened state, Will wasn't up for a ton of traveling, but since the man said it was only a half day away, heading the short way to Freejia did sound too bad. At least the landmass they were traveling was pancake flat, a deep contrast to the mountainous terrain of Itory Village and the Incan Ruins.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" Kara asked. "The sun's just shining so brightly today, and the grass is so green."

Will didn't immediately answer. After about a minute he responded. "I'm just happy to be back on solid land."

"Agreed. Though, the sea was quite beautiful as well." Kara said.

Will thought it quite strange how Kara always saw natural beauty in the lands they visited. What she saw as picturesque, he saw as rough and unforgiving. Maybe Kara just didn't understand the true peril of being an explorer. Or maybe there was more to it than that. He thought it over as they continued their journey through the afternoon. Finally, as the sun was starting its decline toward the horizon, they saw the budding outskirts of a major town. It sprawled out for what seemed like miles ahead, bigger than any series of buildings they had ever seen. A guidepost on the route said "Freejia, 1 mile ahead." They were almost there.

Entering the city through the southern gates, Kara immediately noticed that there were flowers planted everywhere. They lined the cobblestone streets, they lined the beds of houses, they were even on the landings of several buildings ahead. It didn't take long for her to fall in love with the vast horticulture of the city. Will ignored her ramblings just enough to notice a middle-aged man walking toward them from the north.

"What a cute couple." the man said. "Have you decided where you are staying tonight?"

"Not really." Will said. "We're just looking around."

"Well look no further. Come with me this way to the hotel. We'll take care of you there." the man said.

"Well, it's settled then." Kara said. "Come on Will."

The walked about a block north, then about three blocks to the east through a dense residential area of Freejia. Will had never seen so many big buildings in his life. The houses were three stories tall, and had steel deck porches. Even Eric's large house in South Cape paled in comparison to the kind of luxury he was seeing. Finally, they reached the hotel. The man led Kara into the hotel, followed by Will. "Our attendant bellhop will assist you as soon as she comes downstairs." he said.

The bellhop came down through the stairway. It was Lilly!

"Will? Kara? You're safe! It's been almost a month seen we've seen each other!" Lilly shouted as soon as she saw them.

"Yes!" Will said "We washed up around Oakton, and came north to Freejia looking for you and the others."

"I've been living and working in this hotel. Lance is in the room over on the right, you should go talk to him." Lilly said.

Will and Kara looked at each other. They had found their friends, at least two of them. They could hardly contain their excitement as they walked into the room on the right. But when they saw Lance, Will knew something was wrong. He looked really pale, as if he was sick. He sat in the chair next to Lance, who spoke. "They tell me that I don't know who I am. If I don't know who I am, then how did I get here." Will and Kara looked back toward Lilly, who had just walked through the doorway. "Lance hit his head pretty hard while escaping from the gold ship. The doctor says he has temporary amnesia. Meanwhile, I think Lance should stay here until he recovers."

The four had a warm meal together for the first time in weeks that night. While they ate, they told tales of their respective escapes from the Incan Gold Ship. Will's bout with scurvy and Lance's bout with amnesia dominated the conversation, as did Seth. They all felt terrible about Seth's apparent swallowing/drowning, but agreed that there was nothing they could do to stop it. As they were talking about Seth, a thought popped into Will's mind.

"Lilly, where's Erik?"


	12. Flowers, Diamonds, and Labor Traders

**Chapter 12: Flowers, Diamonds, and Labor Traders**

"Whatever you do, don't venture onto the back streets of town. Just like a rose has thorns, a pretty town has another side."

These words rang through Will's mind as he ventured through downtown Freejia. About six blocks north of the Freejia capital building (the city served as East Gondwanaland's capital), the scenery began to change a bit. The wildflowers and cobblestones of the city center had changed, replaced by weeds and dirt roads. The luxury homes and businesses that he had seen earlier had been replaced by single level shacks made of wood and stone. It was evident that he had entered an impoverished section of the city. But what was so bad about that? It wasn't like people who lacked money were evil. His family was never very wealthy back in South Cape.

Despite the warning of the nice lady at the hotel, Will had to find Erik. Lilly had mentioned something about him not returning the previous night. They both agreed it was unlikely for him to leave Freejia, but having never been to the city before, Will was uncertain where to go about looking for his friend. A man wearing a purplish colored tunic came walking toward Will near the entrance of a cluster of small homes. He inadvertently bumped into Will as he walked by, almost as if he never saw him. "Stay out of my way will you?" the guy said sternly. Will was insulted, but saw no need to escalate the situation. The man entered a small residence on the left and quickly locked the door. The man's actions seemed quite suspicious. Will continued on his way, now heading to the east. He walked two blocks that direction before being stopped by several armed guards at a street corner. "This area is for grown-ups and authorized personnel only, children cannot pass. Go home." one of the guards said. Will was insulted. He was of age to do just about anything, and these men were telling him to leave. Between this confrontation and the experience with the purple-garbed man earlier, he sensed something wasn't quite right. Looking for a rooftop ledge with which to get around the guards, he spotted one to his left. The building was a two story duplex that seemed a bit dilapidated. It was perfect cover for what he was about to do. He walked into the building, pushing the wooden screen door open. What he saw on the inside of the building horrified him. There were people sitting on the ground with ski masks over their faces bound by balls and chains. The people did not even acknowledge his appearance in the room, which was even stranger. Not sure what to do, Will quickly made his way to the roof of the building. As he suspected, the guards on the ground were occupied and unsuspecting. He noticed that they were talking to two other people, both wearing the same purple tunic as the guy he ran into on the back street. Will leapt off the building and landed on the dirt street below. Not even wasting time to brush the dirt off his pants, he made his way eastward another block before coming to another stone building. The sign indicated it was a marketplace of some sort.

Upon entering the marketplace, he noticed two more purple-garbed individuals guarding the entranceway to an area with several people held captive. It was a marketplace all right, it was a market for forced labor! And the people in purple were labor traders! Now Will was very upset. He approached the labor trader at the entrance to the prison area. The man responded quickly to him. "Hey boy, this is a labor market, go home, go home." Will pointed to the red jewels in his tote bag and then pointed at one of the laborers inside the prison. The trader suddenly changed his tone. "Or, did you come to get a laborer?" he asked him. Will responded with a quick yes. "I respect your courage." the trader responded. "I don't know what you're doing here, but have a look around." Will walked into the prison and talked with two laborers. Their names were Imus and Remus, and they told Will that they had been taken captive in a far away village in Laurasia. Their village had been stricken with an epidemic of sickness so terrible that people were shriveling up and turning into skeletons. Others were turning to stone. Labor traders attacked their village in the midst of their suffering and took them prisoner, eventually forcing them into becoming laborers. Several months later, they were loaded onto a ship against their will and taken to East Gondwanaland, ending up in the capital city, Freejia. Their stories horrified Will. He thanked them and turned his attention to a third laborer on the right.

"What is your name?" Will asked.

"Sam" he responded.

"Really?" Will answered excitedly. "Did you happen to write a note and stuff it inside a pot. A note, like this one I found on the ocean?"

Sam quickly studied the note. "How did you find this?" he asked.

"I was drifting out on the Sea of Gondwanaland with an aquaintence of mine, and a pot with this letter drifted up to our raft. I take it you wrote this when you, Imus, and Remus were sent away from your native village."

Sam took a while to respond. "We have been through so much. Through disease and sickness back home, and our suffering at the hands of the labor traders. I just wanted somebody to come help us. Last night, somebody did. A man named Erik came to our camp and broke us out. Unfortunately, we were undone by a traitor on the streets and brought back here."

Will could not believe what he was hearing. "Erik is a one of my best friends! Where did they take him?"

"He's being held in a house on the northwest side of town. I hear they are going to turn him into forced labor like us."

"Not if I have anything to say about it they won't! Thank you Sam. I promise you, after I save Erik, I will be coming back for you and your friends. You won't suffer like this anymore."

Will was furious. He ran through the streets of northern Freejia, right past the guard station he bypassed earlier. His pace only quickened as he approached the band of houses on the northwest side of town. He didn't need any more information, he knew exactly who was holding his friend captive.

"If you don't want to lose your life, go home." he heard from behind the door.

"Is there a man named Erik there?" Will asked forcefully.

"Erik? I don't know anybody by that name." the labor trader responded.

"Hey Will, Will is that you?" a voice from inside said. "Save me."

There was a sudden sound that seemed like wood contacting a solid object. "Hey boy, be quiet!" the trader remarked.

Will had heard enough. He took out his flute and ran forward with all speed, breaking down the heavy wooden door. The trader quickly scampered out the back window before Will could get to him. Erik was tied up to a chair with a great bunch of rope. "Will? That was amazing!" Erik remarked. "I didn't know you could break down the door."

"Erik. What are the traders doing with the laborers?" Will asked as he undid the ropes.

"They are forcing them to work in a diamond mine to the east of here. I'll mark it on your map."

"Let's get back to the hotel. Lance, Lilly, and Kara are probably worried sick."


	13. The Diamond Mine

**Chapter 13: The Diamond Mine**

Day 35 -

It was a glorious sunset in central East Gondwanaland. Will was starting to get thirsty as there wasn't any natural water in sight. After two and a half days of traveling through flat, humid grasslands, the land had changed to that of a semi-arid plateau of rocks and scrub. He was hoping to get to the mine before long. About an hour later the trail diverged into two paths, one leading down into a steep valley, the other leading out toward another high plateau. Will took the path on the right leading down toward toward the valley. After another hour of treacherous downward climbing, Will began to notice some of the labor workers going about their business at the bottom of the rocky valley. Around them were people dressed in greenish-gray clothing. Will moved behind a rocky outcropping just above a mineshaft entrance as two labor traders talked with a green-haired man in a purple tunic. The labor traders bowed in front of him. Will figured it was their boss. Eventually, their conversation ended and the green haired man walked toward where Will lied in wait. He took his flute and took the man down by the neck while holding his mouth.

"Where are they? Where are the laborers?" Will asked him hurriedly. "Tell me!" The man pointed quickly toward the shaft. Will kicked him in the chest as he released him and ran toward the mineshaft entrance. Two labor traders noticed Will and yelled at him to stop. But he plowed right through the gate, entering the mine. He kept running at full speed down a dark tunnel until he reached a lighted cavern. Will was nearly blinded by the contents of the room. The light reflected off a grand wall of diamond on the left, it was more diamonds than Will had ever seen in his life. Two laborers were working at the wall with their pick axes. There were two green demons with whips right next to them, ocassionally hitting their subjects when their digging pace slowed. Will was furious. He charged the first demon from behind and snapped its neck with his flute. The other demon flung its whip at Will, but he dodged to the left and nailed its knee with his flute. The demon fell to the ground and surrendered. Will hacked through the laborers' chains and tied up the demon with them.

"Thank you for rescuing me. As a reward, I'll tell you something important." the laborer said. "There was a cave-in on the lower level of the mine last night. Three of my fellow laborers were buried in the cave-in, but the mine owners, labor traders, and demons have made no effort to help them out. Please help them."

The laborer left the mining area. "What disregard for human life." Will thought to himself. He continued with all speed, moving down through a narrow tunnel to the mine's lower level. There were abandoned mine tracks all over the place, and the area made Will a bit on edge, as if somebody was following him. He turned around and there were two demons moving toward him. He turned and ran the opposite direction to where the demon said the cave-in had occurred. He noticed a spot in the wall where there was quite a draft of wind coming through. The demons had cornered him against the wall and were ready to strike with their whips.

"So you think you're better than them?" Will asked with fire in his eyes. Without so much as a response, Will turned around and started hacking through the rocks near where he felt the draft. Before long, he felt a sting of one of the demon's whips. Will turned around and chucked a rock right into one of the demon's faces, and it fell to the ground. The other demon charged, but he tripped on one of the rocks Will had unearthed earlier. Will picked the demon up by the neck and slammed it facefirst right into the caved-in wall. More rocks fell down off the wall and the draft became stronger. By now the other demon had come to his senses. Will moved quickly with his flute and struck it in the chest, then the head. He then gouged the demon's facial wound with his flute. The other demon then got a face full of wall just like his counterpart. The force of the second impact caused the wall to collapse in on itself. On the other side of the wall three laborers were sitting indian-style together. They immediately rose to their feet to see Will standing and the demons out cold on the rocky floor.

"Thank you. We were buried in the cave-in. As a reward, we will give you the three red jewels we found in the mine. We'll send them to the Jeweler." The laborers thanked Will and moved up toward the mine entrance. After a few seconds, one of the laborers turned around and walked back toward Will.

"What is your name?" the laborer asked.

"Will" he responded.

"Will, there are laborers forced to work deep in the diamond mine. This is a key to the main elevator across the chasm. Take it, and save them!" He gave will a gray key, then rejoined his laborer friends. Will backtracked through the mine to the elevator door. With a turn of the key, the door opened, leading to a dark tunnel. At the end of a tunnel was a lift that hung over a vast canyon of pure diamond. Surely Will thought, if the lift were to break, it would be goodnight. He walked onto the lift and held on as it transported him across the canyon. Once on the other side, he moved quickly to what appeared to be a morgue. There were skeletons on the floor of the mine, not unlike those he had seen on the Incan Gold Ship. At least, Will thought, these were probably just the poor souls who had died in the mine. The skeletons on the Gold Ship still befuddled him beyond belief. He had seen the Inca people on the ship the previous day. Now was he actually dreaming or existing in the past, or were the Inca intruding on the present?

Suddenly, a shiny object on the ground snapped Will out of his furious thought. It was a sterling silver key! He quickly picked up the key and sped out of the room, just in case the room was cursed. It wasn't. He moved quickly to a locked door to the left of the morgue. Unfortunately, when Will inspected the door, it had two keyholes. Seeing this, he moved into another room on the left. Inside this room were more demons and another laborer hard at work. Knowing the green demons' weaknesses in and out by now, Will moved quickly through the three demons in the room and reached the laborer. The laborer, as Will suspected, was holding the other key and gave it up in return for Will freeing him. He left the room with the laborer and opened the locked door. Whatever was down this new tunnel had to be valuable.

As it turned out, behind the door was a brand new mine tunnel that had just been dug. At the end of the tunnel was a dead end, with three familiar faces at the end. It was Remus, Imus, and Sam! And they had been ball-and-chained! Will quickly hacked through their chains and rescued them. The three appeared to be especially gracious, and Sam approached Will.

"You did what you said you were going to do in Freejia. You saved us. In return, I know something that can help you. One of your friends has lost his memory, no? A man named Lance?"

Sam's sentence shocked Will. He was all ears.


	14. The Inventor

**Chapter 14 - The Inventor**

Day 38 -

"Play the Memory Melody for him when you get back to Freejia. He'll start to remember who he is. May I have the prison key and the Melody of the Wind in return? I'm sure I'll never use it again."

"I'll never forget you."

Sam's words ran heavy in Will's mind, even after he bid farewell to him and his friends on the trail leading back from the diamond mine. Would playing a melody on his flute actually help restore Lance's memory? He had his doubts, but if the natives from Sam's village knew anything about ancient healing methods, there was a good possibility it could work. Besides, Will thought, there was a possibility Lance had come around on his own.

It had been almost 5 days since Will had left Freejia for the diamond mine. He was sick and tired of the lonesome traveling and longed to see his friends again. The presence of the labor traders in Freejia worried him. He was sure that they would go after Erik again. Heck, they were probably looking for him right now. He had invaded the home of one trader to save Erik, and killed several others down at the diamond mine. He had to get to Freejia and get his companions out of the city before the traders found him.

On the morning of Day 38, Will re-entered Freejia from the eastern entrance gate. He had actually reached the city during the night of day 37, but was concerned about who was roaming the streets at night. About half an hour after entering the city, he reached the hotel where all of his friends had been staying. They were all seated around a circular table on the first floor. Lilly and Kara both noticed Will's demeanor. "Why the long face Will?" Lilly asked him. "Are you upset about something?" Kara asked.

"Is Lance better?" Will asked them.

"No." Lilly said. "I'm not sure exactly what is troubling him, but it's a really bad case. The doctors say it might take weeks for him to get better."

Will had heard enough. He took out his flute. Without saying a word, he started playing the melody that Sam had taught him in the diamond mine. As the notes flowed through the air, Lance stared blankly toward the center of the table. Will was hoping for a reaction as he concluded the song.

Lance seemed to enter a trance of deep thought. In fact, he wasn't the only one. Kara, Lilly, Erik, they are seemed to slip out of consciousness. It wasn't long before Will himself began to feel woozy. He could see his friends seated at the table, but everything else seemed black. All five began to reveal many of their deepest thoughts.

"I feel like I'm back in the womb." Lilly said.

"I was born in the town of South Cape." Lance said. "My father was an explorer, when he didn't return from the tower of Babel, I didn't know what to do. I hope I find him someday."

"I am the Princess of Edward Castle." Kara said. I couldn't stand watching as my father invaded other countries. What was built up for years was destroyed in one moment. His actions led me to escape from the castle and see the world."

"I am a flower spirit of Itory Village." Lilly said. "The Elder appointed me to help protect the village from invaders, and to protect our brethren from the village. That's how I met Will, when he was in trouble in the prison of Edward Castle. We've been friends ever since."

"Somehow, I feel it all coming together." Lance said.

"I wonder if this is what birth feels like." Kara said.

"I wonder if Seth is alright." Erik said.

"People forget about unpleasant memories because it is their only way of moving on with their lives." Lilly said.

About when Lilly spoke her last words, the darkness in the hotel room started to break. The light came filtering back through. Lance started looking around quickly as if he had just been awakened. "Huh? Where am I?" Lance asked.

"Lance! Your memory is back!" Erik said frantically.

"Thank goodness. I was really starting to worry." Lilly said.

Will walked over to Lance and gave him a hug. "It's good to have you back." he said. He turned back around to the others. "Alright listen, we've got a situation on our hands. The labor traders are after us. We've got to leave Freejia immediately or we'll be captured. I know of a place we can go, its the cottage of my cousin Neil. He's an inventor who lives north of here."

Kara interrupted Will. "You mean Neil the Inventor? The guy who invented things like the camera, the air tank, and the airplane? I want to see those!"

For once, Willcouldn't disagree with Kara. Neither could anybody else. A few minutes later, they were on their way north out of Freejia.

Day 39 -

They traveled all day and all night north out of Freejia toward the northern shores of East Gondwanaland. The terrain of grasslands and wildflowers continued the whole way northbound, and the temperature was fairly hot, even during the nighttime hours. Luckily for all five in the traveling party, the terrain was pancake flat, keeping the stress on their legs to a minimum. Best of all, there was no sight of the purple-shrouded folk that were no doubt attempting to hunt them down. Around middle afternoon on Day 39, they reached Neil's cottage. It was a small, log cabin in a forested area only a few miles away from the ocean. Will knocked on the door.

"Hello, who is it?" a voice asked.

"It's me, Will from South Cape." Will said.

The door opened, and Will stepped inside the cabin with his traveling companions behind him. Neil was astonished by Will's appearance. "Oh, my how you've grown, Neil said. And are these your friends." Will introduced Erik, Lance, Kara, and Lilly one by one. "Ah, very well to have you here."

Kara interjected. "This person stinks." she told Will. Lilly quickly responded, "Kara, this man is letting us into his house, don't say things look that!"

Neil laughed a bit. He frowned a bit, then continued, "I'm sorry about my appearance. When you get caught up in inventing something, you don't care about your appearance. I've only been wearing these socks for a month. Lilly and Lance looked over the inventions that were strown around the room, while Kara and Erik talked quietly at a table in the corner of the cabin. Will and Neil had some catching up to do.

"So how is life in South Cape?" Neil asked.

"Well, it was going good." Then things started happening.

'Things like what?" Neil asked.

"First I got summoned to Edward Castle, and I got thrown in prison. Kara helped break me out of the prison and we both left the castle in the middle of the night. While I was in their though, my father spoke to me during a dream. He said he wanted me to save me. He told me about the ruins of the world and how they were the key to saving him. So I left South Cape for the Inca Ruins, and I eventually found this on the Incan Gold Ship." He reached into his travel pack and pulled out the red mystic statue he received from the Inca queen.

"You know Will, there's a great desert about a week's walk east of here. There are great paintings on the desert sands there, its really quite cool. They say the paintings were made by the ancient Nazca people. Maybe you'll find something there. My airplane is actually parked there out in the desert, there's too many trees to fly it here. You'll be able to see it up close."

"Maybe tomorrow." Will said. "We're all a bit tired of the traveling right now."

"Alright then. Tomorrow we leave for Nazca."


	15. The Nazca Desert

**Chapter 15: The Nazca Desert  
**

Day 43 -

The terrain had turned from flowery grasslands to dry scrub days ago. By now, it was a rocky desert landscape. Days had passed since they had left Neil's cottage in the forests of northern East Gondwanaland. Tempers were starting to flare over the distance of the voyage.

"Are we ever going to make it there?" Kara said in a whiny tone. "We've been traveling for five days now."

"Are you ever going to stop complaining?" Lilly responded. "You've been nothing but a prissy little girl ever since we left Neil's."

"Lilly, I can't help it if my feet hurt. We've been on this road for days."

"Kara, This is why you shouldn't have come on this adventure. You're soft and spoiled, that's all you'll ever be."

"That's quite enough you two." Will said. "We've been through trips through the mountains, through dangerous towns, and we've escaped a shipwreck. I don't think any of us have the right to call each other weaklings."

Lance interjected. "Lilly, I understand your frustration, and Kara, I understand your soreness. I'm feeling a little bit of both right now. Neil, when exactly are we going to reach these ground paintings?"

Neil and Will conferred for a brief second. They appeared to exchange some whispers before Will turned back toward the rest of the party. Neil says we're about a half day's walk away. If we keep traveling to the east, we'll be there by morning." It was obvious to Will that Neil was quite annoyed with Kara. Will wasn't surprised given Kara's propensity for rubbing people the wrong way. After all, she did say he stunk a few days back.

The rest of the day was fairly nondescript. Kara continued to complain about her feet. Lance's nerves were fraying with each step. Neil wondered if even mentioning Nazca in the first place was a mistake. Will was concerned that they might run out of water before reaching Nazca. As it turned out, his fears were not unwarranted. When they woke up on Day 44, Will noticed that they were on their last few kegs of the precious liquid. They would have to find some in the ruins, or they would be in trouble. Worse yet, the weather was already quite warm for early in the morning. It was going to be a hot day. As they went over a small ridge in the rocky terrain, they could see the rising sun, and what appeared to be strange markings on the desert plain ahead. Neil emerged to the front of the group as he led them away from the main path about four miles to the east.

"Well, it was a long journey, but you all did a good job." Neil said. "This is Nazca Desert. If you look around here, you'll see some strange markings and paintings on the desert sands. They say that these markings are drawings of the the great systems of stars in the night sky. Why the Nazca people drew them, nobody really knows. You really should have a look around." With this, everybody in the party except for Erik spread out around the desert plain. With nobody around the area for miles, there was no threat in separating for a brief while. "Goodness", Will thought, "It might just be what the group needs to sort things out."

They spent the better part of the morning looking over the various drawings. Will spent some time with Kara near what appeared to be a series of solid lines. "The lines in this drawing look like those of a giant sporting event. Maybe the ancient Nazca people ran the 100-yard dash here." Will had to agree in principle with Kara's idea, it was just as plausible as any other he'd heard. The two looked over a few more paintings, and then he went over to the other side of the plain to where Lance and Lilly were examining an animal of some sort. "It looks like an elephant." Lance said. "I'm not sure, might be a mammoth." Lilly responded.

After a little more examination, Will noticed a painting in the shape of a giant condor to the south of where they were all spread out. He approached the painting and started to examine it. As he did, he noticed a strange shadow-like creature standing over one of the condor's talons. It was a member of the Moon Tribe! Will ran over toward the spirit, but it noticed him and ran away quickly. As it did so, it told Will, "Come quickly, or the demon will get you." This perplexed Will, but he remembered that Nazca was an ancient ruin. It was entirely possible that a great demon like the one he fought in the Incan Ruins would attempt to ambush him and his friends. If this was the case then he had to warn everybody. He ran back over to Neil, who was standing at the north end of the paintings with Erik. It was obvious that Erik was either scared, or he just didn't want to leave Neil's side. After what he had seen, Will didn't blame Erik for his apparent fright. "Hey, do you know anything about the painting of a giant condor?"

"A condor?" Neil asked. "What, you mean the one just to the south? It's a model of the constellation Cygnus."

"Cygnus? Wasn't that the set of stars we saw before?" Kara asked from behind. Will turned around and noticed that the rest of the group was re-emerging from their various locations. Lance and Lilly were just behind her.

"So you've seen it too?" Neil asked. "When we look at the drawing, we see Cygnus, although the ancients probably just saw a condor."

There was a pause. Then Lilly suddenly ran out toward the painting a bit. "I've got it. Look over there at the painting! The stones on the ground match the positions of the stars in the constellation of Cygnus!"

Neil was impressed. "That's right. Cygnus has nine stars, and there are nine stones."

"Where is the red star that appeared recently, the one that we wished upon?" Kara asked Will.

Will remembered back to his encounter with the Moon Tribe shadow, and his night of stargazing on the ocean. He knew the answer. "It's at the left foot."

"Of course!" Neil shouted. "It's at the condor's left foot! Let's check the left foot!"

Will and Neil led the way down the desert as they quickly converged on the giant painting of the condor. They all quickly circled around the left foot of the bird. Sudden thoughts began to race in Will's mind. Was the second mystic statue buried here beneath the sands? Or was it something more sinister. Kara was feeling the same thoughts. "Something exciting is going to happen!" She exclaimed. Will looked at Erik, he had a look on his face that indicated that he had to go to the bathroom very badly. "I wonder what's here." Lance said.

Just as soon as Lance was done with his sentence, Will and the others noticed a strange chunk of earth up in the sky that wasn't there before. It was partially blocking out the sunlight. Worse yet, the blackish chunk was becoming bigger and bigger, as if it was falling right out of the sky! Erik was freaking out. "Hey look, the sky is falling down!" he shouted. As Erik was finishing his sentence, Will started to feel very woozy. He quickly passed out on the sand.

The next thing he knew, he was lying in a garden. It appeared to be an oasis of some kind.


	16. The Sky Garden

**Chapter 16: The Sky Garden**

Will got up and looked around. The was grass all around him, and there was a fountain just to his right. There were several exit paths out of the grassy area where he was standing, four of them in total. Behind him was a bridge leading up to another platform. He looked out to the platform, which appeared to be floating in space. That's when he looked down and noticed the desert below. He fell to his feet and backed away at the sight. He felt extremely sick, as if he was going to throw up.

To his horror, Will noticed that the platform behind him wasn't the only one floating high in the sky. The garden he was standing in was hovering several thousand feet high above Nazca Desert. How he got up there, he had no idea. Down on the desert sands he could see his friends. They looked like tiny ants from his vantage point.

"How in the world am I going to get down from here?" Will wondered. He looked out to the floating platform and noticed an animal of some sort, maybe an eagle. It was huge, certainly big enough to carry him. Upon closer inspection, he saw something else, something blue laying in front of the eagle. It was a mystic statue! Now Will knew what he had to do, he had to get across to that platform. Unfortunately for Will, the bridge between the garden and the floating platform was out. There were heavy blue blocks that looked like they could be used as a bridge, but they were stuck to the rocky sides of the floating garden and Will was unable to pry them loose. On the sides of the garden near each blue block he noticed slots similar to the diamond-shaped hole he saw in the Incan Ruins, except that these were circular. Maybe there were spherical blocks he had to find somewhere in the garden that would allow him to move the big blue blocks and build the bridge?

He ventured out of the garden to the right across one of the four bridges leading outward. Across the other side he saw three giant centipedes and a treasure chest. He worked his way around the centipedes, which didn't really notice him, and opened the chest. Inside was a red jewel, his 18th of the journey. Although it wasn't what he was looking for, he was starting to wonder what to do with all the red jewels he was gathering. Maybe if he made it out of the sky garden alive he'd give them to Kara and Lilly as gifts. As he turned around from the chest, one of the centipedes came from behind and inadvertently tripped him. "Well that wasn't very nice now was it?" Will thought. He took his flute and knocked some sense into the giant centipede, and it self-destructed via explosion. Will was prepared for it though, as other demons he had encountered also died by way of explosion. He started to progress further through the garden. He could see another treasure chest on another floating garden across a chasm. But the fairly high walls at the edges of the floating gardens made it impossible to jump across, not to mention that he'd be absolutely crazy for doing so. He continued to look for a path across, but unfortunately he came to a dead end where the walls were knocked out. Will started to turn around, but he didn't notice a blue robot-like demon that had snuck up behind him. It fired its fists at Will and nailed him right in the face. Will fell backward off of the garden! He was falling!

To his surprise, Will noticed the entire sky garden had flipped over upside down. Will fell hard on his back, on the opposite side of the garden! He got up on his feet and looked up. He could see the desert sands below. When he looked down, the clouds and sun looked back at him.

"This thing flips upside-down? Well hopefully it flips back right side-up again." he thought.

Will progressed through the rocky backside of the garden. He had to fight several more demon centipedes, which were faster and didn't explode in any sort of pattern like the ones on the right side-up portion of the garden. Rather, these exploded and used their body parts as homing missiles once dead. Dodging the falling centipede remains all around him, he came to another dead end. He prepared himself for a jump upwards toward the sky. He leapt off the dead end and the garden flipped over right side-up. Landing on his feet this time, Will moved quickly toward the treasure chest he saw earlier and opened it. Inside was a blue crystal ball, just the item he was looking for to create the bridge leading to the mystic statue. He progressed back through the sky garden back to the main garden where he initially found himself. He set the first crystal ball in the sphere slot in the wall on the right. The heavy blue block on the other side of the wall came undone and floated across the gap to the spot where the bridge would be constructed. There were now 3 more blue crystal balls to find. As he left the main garden heading to the south, he noticed that there was a dark space near where he entered the sky garden. Perhaps Gaia knew something about the predicament he was in. For now, Will needed to find the other crystal balls.

About an hour later, Will returned with the third crystal ball. The second one wasn't hard to find at all, for it was in a chest hiding behind a statue of an eagle. The third one was trickier, as it was in a chest on top of a steep hill. Will had to go onto the backside of the garden and flip a switch down below to allow himself to run off the side of one hill and up the other. With three big blue blocks now in place and only one to go, Will figured he could probably jump the gap and move on to the floating platform with the mystic statue. But when he stepped onto the first blue block he stumbled and nearly fell over. The blocks were very slippery, as if they had been heavily waxed. A jump was too risky. So he headed back into the main garden and out to the left en route to the fourth crystal ball.

The fourth crystal ball was tough to find, for the garden had turned into a maze with multiple jumps between right side-up and upside-down. Not only that, but the demons were starting to get under Will's skin. The red robots on the backside of the garden were starting to shoot their arms at him, and have them return like boomerangs. Two of these robots shocked him when he dodged their arms, only to have them hit him in the back of the head on the return. They were starting to dodge his flute attacks as well. The exploding centipedes were becoming tougher to avoid as well. Its almost as if a switch had been flipped, and all the garden's demons were trying hard to protect the mystic statue. Either that, or they were trying to protect their master. The farther Will went on, the more he had that sinking feeling that the eagle in front of the mystic statue was the final boss of the sky garden. Moving a knight statue via telekenetic power, Will tripped a switch and allowed himself to move forward. He encountered about 10 demons protecting the exit from the upside-down world. He engaged them one after another, occasionally using his psycho dash power to lunge right into the midsection of the robots. He was in a lot of pain and he took a lot of punishment, but unlike in the Incan Ruins, with each blow his motivation to fight only rose. Dealing with the labor traders in Freejia had strengthened his resolve. Finally, he finished the last robot demon by catching one of it's arms in midair and throwing it right back into it's face. Jumping back to the right side-up world, he noticed a series of hills on the left, each leading to a jump across a gap to several chests. He picked the one closest to him and built up speed, clearing the chasm by several yards. Inside the chest was the fourth crystal ball.

Because he was bleeding from the head and suffering from pain in his arms and midsection, he went to see Gaia in the dark space. He saw a statue of Freedan on the right, which confirmed that a major demon was coming. Gaia told him that he had done well to come this far and that he should be careful against a demon named Viper up ahead. She comforted his weariness, and then Will moved in front of the Freedan statue. The transformation only took a few seconds.

Freedan put the fourth crystal ball in the final remaining hole, and now the bridge was complete. He walked carefully across the blue blocks to a patch of grass, which led to the path of cement blocks leading to the floating platform. As Freedan walked forward, the cement blocks started crumbling and falling toward the earth behind him. There was no turning back. He reached the platform and moved toward the eagle and the mystic statue. He was about ten feet away from both and still the eagle had not awakened.

"If your name is Viper, the great demon eagle, then rise and fight me." Freedan said.

But the eagle didn't stir. Maybe this was a setup of some kind. Maybe the demon wasn't the eagle, maybe it was something else using the eagle as a cover. Freedan didn't wait around, he made a move for the mystic statue. That's when the eagle quickly awakened and shot some razor-tipped feathers at Freedan. These couldn't cut through his armor, but they were heavy, and they knocked Freedan backward. Viper grabbed the mystic statue into one of his talons, and started flying around the platform, stalking Freedan. The battle was on.


	17. Falling, Falling, Falling

**Chapter 17: Falling, Falling, Falling**

Viper shot more razor-sharp feathers at Freedan. Freedan felt a few brush past his arm, but they did not affect him. Viper realized that he was going to have to get closer to Freedan in order to attack. He swooped down quickly and attempted to knock Freedan down with his wings. Freedan was ready for the attack, but he underestimated Viper's speed. Viper crashed into Freedan, knocking him backward about 10 feet. His head and back crashed against the blocks at the edge of the floating platform. He was lucky he didn't get knocked off entirely. Viper flapped his wings furiously, building up a wind. Before Freedan could get up, his body fell over the blocks. Reaching out a spare hand, he was able to grab onto the edge. He now dangled over the edge of the platform. He attempted to pull himself up, but his armor was too heavy, it was holding him down. Before he could decide whether to take it off or not, Viper was readying another attack. Several razor-sharp feathers scraped by Freedan's arms and face. He struggled to hold on. Blood started pouring from his cheeks and chin.

On the ground, Kara, Neil, and the others watched what was going on in the skies overhead.

"I can hardly see anything up there, it's just so high up." Neil said.

"Hey!" Kara shouted. "Is that Will up there? Is he the one fighting the giant bird up there?"

"My intuition tells me it might be. I don't know why, but I just feel it." Lilly said. Lance concurred with Lilly. "Will has some strange powers. I didn't know that the ability to teleport was one of them, but it might be. I'd bet anything that's him up there! And it looks like he's clinging to an edge!"

"I'll get the airplane. It's on the landing strip less than a half mile away. Stay put, I'll bring it over here, there's no time to waste!"

"You have an actual airplane here?" Erik exclaimed. But Neil was already gone.

"Cool." Erik said.

Freedan saw Viper coming straight at him. This was it, if he didn't figure something out quick, he was going to be plummeting toward the sands below. Viper charged, and Freedan stuck out his sword. Viper saw it, and dodged downward. Seeing his opening, Freedan let go. He timed it perfectly, and landed on Viper's back. Viper strained as Freedan's extra weight came onto him. He tried to shake Freedan off, but his grip was too strong. Freedan swung his sword at Viper's head, three times knocking the eagle good at the side of it's beak. Viper flapped hard to maintain altitude. They were falling. Freedan ceased attacking for fear of them both falling to their deaths. He held on for dear life as Viper's flight path became more erratic.

Meanwhile, Neil and the others were loading themselves into Neil's airplane. It was a small propeller plane, essentially a glider with an engine attached. It was small enough that one of them would have to sit on the wing. Erik volunteered himself for this unenviable task.

"Are you sure this thing will fly?" Lance asked Neil.

"It should. I've worked on it for years." Neil replied.

"Have you ever tried to fly it before?"

"Not really. This is the first time I've ever had to use it."

Lance was getting really nervous. So was Kara. They had never seen such an invention before, and now they were hearing that it had never even been tested before. Lilly, normally the stoic one of the group, was deathly quiet, quiet enough that Lance was starting to freak out. Eric looked like he didn't have a care in the world. He cheered as the propeller turned and the engine purred. Within a minute or so, they were airborne.

Freedan and Viper continued on their entangled journey in the skies above Nazca Desert. Before long, they were back above the sky garden. Viper landed hard on the floating platform, knocking Freedan off. Freedan tumbled over several times before coming to a stop. His sword had skidded into the corner of the platform. He went to retrieve it. Viper flapped hard in an effort to push him off with his wind attack, but Freedan sunk his sword into the rocky platform, creating a strong pole to hang onto. Viper changed strategy and went back to shooting feathers at Freedan. This time, Freedan dodged them while running at Viper. He sunk his sword into Viper's chest. Viper retreated backward and fired more feathers. This was followed by another swoop-down attack. This time Freedan timed it perfectly, slicing Viper right in the left talon. The mystic statue fell right out of Viper's talon and into Freedan's hand. Viper fell to the platform.

Freedan ran over to Viper, who was still down. It's left wing had been damaged, just like it's talon, and it could no longer fly. Freedan got on top of Viper and sunk his sword into it's head. The demon self-destructed in a ball of flames. Freedan knelt down with the mystic statue in his left hand, raising his sword in his right. The battle had been won. It was time to transform back. Freedan lost consciousness.

"Hey Will! Is that you up there?" Neil shouted from below. "You're falling! Grab my airplane and we'll get out of here!" Will came to his senses and noticed the sky garden now high above him. The floating platform was falling. Seeing no other option, Will jumped off of the platform in the direction of the airplane. Unfortunately, Neil mistimed his approach, and Will flew right over the plane. He was now hurtling downward like a missile toward the desert below.

"Shoot! I dropped a contact!" Neil shouted.

"What? You idiot!" Kara shouted. "Will is doomed for sure now."

"There's still a little ways to the ground!" Lance shouted. "You get him on the next pass!"

"Okay, I'll get him next time!" Neil shouted.

The airplane roared downward and back toward Will. Neil had to consider everything perfectly, the angle of descent, the speed, Will's weight, the altitude still left above the ground. If anything went wrong, they could all be killed. Kara, Lilly, Lance, and Erik all held their breath as they proceeded to pass underneath Will. This time, Neil's timing was perfect, and Will landed on the left wing of the plane. Neil pulled up gradually, and they leveled off about two hundred feet above the desert sands.

"Whew, that was a close one." Neil said.

"Neil, that was amazing. Your invention saved Will's life!" Kara shouted.

"Heh, heh. Don't give me all the credit, you helped too."

"Well, at least Will is safe now." Lance said. "Let's get out of here."

Neil turned the plane around toward the northwest. "Well, let's see if we can find the next ruins. The island of Mu should be somewhere out in the ocean up ahead. Let's see if we can find Mu."

Everybody concurred with that idea, and they started to fly northwest out into the Pacific Ocean. They flew for several hours. The day was starting to turn into night. The view of the sunset from the plane was enough to bring Kara to tears. She had never seen a sunset so beautiful; it was enough for her to forget about Neil's foul smell. Her and Neil continued to navigate in the front of the plane. Lance and Lilly slept in the back of the plane, the ordeal had racked their brains enough for a year.

"It's good to have you back." Erik told Will.

"Erik, it's good to be back. I thought I was a goner." Will said.

"Well, thanks to Neil's invention, you're still here." Erik said. "I never knew something this cool could be so important. I mean just look at us, we're flying just like the birds."

"I'll have to thank Neil later. I'm out of breath."

A few minutes after Will had finished his sentence, he noticed what appeared to be a landmass on the left.

"Hey Erik! Look over there! Does that look like land?" Will said.

Kara saw it too. "Neil, over there! Land!" Neil started to turn the plane toward the landmass. But as he did so, the airplane started to rumble in midair. A warning siren blared in the front of the plane, causing Lance and Lilly to awake.

"What's going on here?" Lance asked.

"I don't know, the plane is losing it's balance." Neil said. "I'm trying to fight through it."

"Are we going to crash?" Lilly asked.

Lilly's question just hung in the wind for about a minute as Neil wrangled with the plane. But the rumblings just got worse, and the plane started to turn downward.

"Kara! Take the wheel!" Neil shouted as he leapt out of his seat. Kara didn't know what the heck to do but took over anyway. Neil ran quickly to the back, where Lance helped him open up a chest containing parachutes. The plane really began to dive as Neil and Lance passed them out. "We're going down everybody!" Neil yelled. Strap yourself into a parachute and get the heck out! Now!"

Will and Erik got themselves in, and they jumped off the wing. The others quickly followed. About twenty seconds later, the plane crashed down into the deep blue of the Pacific, exploding in a ball of fire and water.

"We got out of the plane in the nick of time." Will thought as they fell. "Neil's a great inventor, but it seems like there's always something missing in his inventions. I guess nobody's perfect, including Neil."


	18. The Seaside Palace

**Chapter 18: The Seaside Palace**

Day 45 -

When Will awoke, he awoke to the feeling of cold tile. He regained his composure to find himself inside a building. The building was made of stone, and the floors were brilliantly scrubbed tile. There was a heavy door behind him that was padlocked. Was he in a castle of some kind?

"I must have fallen asleep." Will thought to himself as he went down a hallway. Suddenly, he noticed something very interesting. The walls of the hallway were made of glass, and the sun shown through. But the sun was diluted, not really shining brightly. The outside was a crystal clear blue. Confused, Will looked through the windows for a few minutes. A school of fish swam past the windows. A shark quickly followed them. Will looked up, and his suspicions were confirmed, the building he was in was underwater. "But how could that be?" Will thought to himself. "Wouldn't I have drowned? Am I in heaven?"

Will walked past the hallway and into another room on the right. Kara was in the room. "Will, what's wrong with everybody?" she asked him, slurring her words. She looked very pale. Will knew that she wasn't feeling well. He told her to wait there while he figured out where they were. He headed down a staircase, then another, before finding Erik. He was in another room on the left, and he too looked very pale. "Will, where am I?" Erik asked. "Momma, save me!" He was very dizzy and sick. Will asked Erik if he knew where Lance and Lilly were, and he did not even acknowledge his question. That was typical Erik, not listening clearly to anybody around him.

Will continued to travel down staircases. The undersea palace was enormous, with intricately designed floors and decorated hallways. It was as if somebody had built the palace on land and then thrown it into the ocean. Along the way he came across three jewel boxes, perhaps not surprising since the building was so lavish. Inside two of the boxes were red jewels, his 20th and 21st of the journey. The third one contained a round crystal stone. Will didn't think it was worth much, but he took it anyway.

The palace kept getting darker and darker the farther down he went. The sun's rays were barely reaching the lower reaches through the hundred plus feet of water overhead. It was because of this that Will hardly even recognized a man up ahead in the hallway. "Run, run away from this place." the man said to Will in a low voice. It was enough to make Will's hair stand on end. A lady farther down the hallway said, "Quick, before the Vampires find you." Now he was scared. He had to find the others, and soon. On the eleventh basement of the palace, he found them in a very dark room on the left. Lance looked more flustered than scared, and Neil was downright despondent. It's almost as if doom had gripped both of them. "What is this place?" Lance asked. "Are we going to die here?" Neil asked in response. Will ordered them to go up the stairs and wait for him with Kara and Erik. They complied, but did not move or act with their normal vigor. Will watched them leave, then turned around toward the stairway to the twelfth basement. A diseased man was standing in the stairwell. "We're turning into monsters. We need the purification stone." Will attempted to ask the man what he was talking about, but he slunk down into the corner and did not respond.

On the twelfth basement were several bluish-black blobs. Maybe water, Will thought to himself. Wrong. The blobs came to life and attacked him. One knocked him off his feet. Shocked, he reached for his flute, but another blob attacked and knocked it from his hands. Will looked quickly for it, but the floor was so dark that he could not locate it. Another blob hit him in the back. By now he was in a lot of pain, and he made a run for it. By this point, Will cared less about his own survival than he did about Lilly's safety. He had to find her! Not even bothering to look at the other blobs falling from the ceiling around him, he continued to run through the darkness until he reached a pit at the bottom of the thirteenth basement. There was a doorway just to his right. He lunged through the doorway just ahead of several more blobs that dropped from the ceiling in pursuit. He got up quickly to hear a voice calling out to him. "Will, you've come." the voice said. It was Lilly. Will quickly sprinted across the pitch dark room toward her voice, but he stumbled over some rocks and into a pool of dirty water. Before he could even pull himself up to the surface, there were two bright flashes in the room. From underwater, he noticed that the crystal stone he was carrying had been dropped into the water, and it was now flashing. It quickly disintegrated and mixed into the fountain. Will climbed out and noticed that the water in the fountain was turning from black to yellow, and then to blue.

"You found the purification stone." Lilly told him. "The fountain is changing, and the palace will too."

"What are you talking about Lilly?" Will asked her.

"I overheard some people talking. This palace is used for the creation of monsters and demons. People have been brought before a pair of vampires, who use them for their evil bidding. These vampires live on the island of Mu, which is connected with this place by a tunnel on the top level."

"What else do you know about this place?" Will asked her.

"I'll tell you more later. Time is short, we need to get back to the surface." Lilly quickly turned into a dandelion and flew toward Will. "I'll borrow your pocket for a while." she said. "Let's go." Will didn't know what to say, but he left the room quickly, half expecting a huge pack of blobs to attack on the other side of the doorway. Instead, Will found no blobs of any sort. After climbing out of the pit, he saw four people standing in a group next to the stairwell leading back up.

"So you're the one that saved us?" a man asked.

"You were the one who purified the fountain." another woman said.

"Yes. But what does that have to do with..." he started.

The man raised his hand. "We were living in Freejia, all four of us. We were stripped of our estate and were bought by labor traders. Said we were wanted for some crime against humanity. So they turned around and sold us to a pair of vampires on the island of Mu! We couldn't believe it. Two of us were slaughtered and killed by the vampires. The rest of us were put into slave labor, until they hatched a plan to change people into demons. We were changed into demons in that very fountain. But now that you found the purification stone and purified the fountain, we have returned to our original form."

"That's weird." Will said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." the man said.

"My friends and I crash landed in the ocean somewhere near Mu. The next thing I knew, I was inside this palace under the sea. How did we get here?"

"It is entirely possible that the vampires found you in the ocean." the man said. "They saved you. Or more like, they saved you with intention of killing you later."

"Well I'll have to thank them." Will said sarcasticly.

The woman chimed in. "The vampires live on the island of Mu. Mu is connected to here by tunnel. I stole a key from the vampire woman two nights ago while she was asleep. Take it, it's your only way out of here. I also believe you dropped this." She handed him his flute.

Will thanked them for their help and scurried up the fights of stairs with all speed. While he was moving, Lilly spoke from his pocket. "I wonder if these vampires are hiding the third mystic statue?" Will didn't like the sound of that one bit. He continued to pound away until he reached the top of the palace where the others were waiting.

"Are we ready to move on to Mu?" Kara asked Will.

Lilly started squirming in his pocket. He knew exactly what she wanted him to say.

"Kara, it's much too dangerous.


	19. Mu Island

**Chapter 19: Mu Island**

Will continued through the rocky tunnel leading out of the Seaside Palace. For a simple tunnel carved out of rock it was actually quite well constructed, no cracks or wear in the pavement. It was not terribly long either. It took him about five minutes to traverse through it. It climbed gently at first, then leveled off, before turning steeply uphill near the end. When he emerged, he found himself standing on a barren, rocky landscape. The ocean roared behind him twenty feet below.

Just moving around on the surface of Mu was difficult. The rocks were big and heavy, a basalt-type you only find on the ocean floor. There was no sign of vegetation or life anywhere to be found. It was almost as if the island was taken straight from the moon. He moved across a ridge and continued down the other side. Finally, he did see something of note, a jewel box with two headstones staring straight at it. Will looked in the jewel box only to find that it was empty. Much to his chagrin, more blob-like enemies emerged beyond the jewel box to attack. This time Will was prepared, isolating each blob with timed attacks from his flute before finishing them off one by one.

The island was vast. About ten minutes went by and there was no sign of life, civilization, or vampires. At last, there was a building of sorts on the right. Will went inside and noticed a pedestal in the middle with a rough carpeting leading up to it. There were statues of hooded people in the corners of the room. Perhaps it was an ancient temple of some kind. Lilly spoke from his pocket. "Will, I don't know why, but I think this was a room of prayers, and possibly hope. These statues are relics of the Rama, the king of Mu."

"I take it this Rama, is the person we need to see here." Will said.

"Nobody knows if Rama is still alive. They say he passed away in a giant flood." Said Lilly. "His loss might have given rise to the vampires. In either case, there is some relic that belongs on that pedestal over there. Let's see if we can find it."

Will moved quickly around a bend in the rocky seacoast. Up ahead were several huge rocks. As he got closer to the rocks though, they came to life! They weren't rocks at all, instead they were hard-muscled demons that only had one eye. They threw rocks at Will whenever he came near. Will kept his distance and moved on. He came to a peninsula at the south end of the rocky island, and just like with the jewel box earlier, he noticed two headstones faced toward a common location in the middle of the peninsula. However this time there was no jewel box at the intersection of their sight lines. Instead, there was a statue lying on the ground. Will picked it up and returned it to the temple he passed earlier. When he placed the statue on the pedestal, the room quickly turned dark, and several fiery lights lit up the room. The spirits of several hooded Mu people appeared at the front of the room. "The sun god Rama." They said. "The ocean holds a power."

They then disappeared and the light returned. Will left the temple and immediately noticed that the water level around the island had dropped significantly, at least ten feet on all sides. Lilly spoke again, "Hey, the water level has gone down. I wonder if there are new areas for us to explore!"

They pushed on into the lower reaches of the island, which compared with the rocky highlands was deep sand. The beaches that were now exposed were almost picturesque in nature. That is of course, with one big exception, the demons. Several hooded spirits appeared ahead of Will out of nowhere. Thinking they would help him like the ones in the temple, he let his guard down. Instead, they fired shots of electric field at him. Caught off guard, two of the shots zapped him and knocked him to the ground. The spirits disappeared and reappeared at a new location farther down the beach. Again they shot at Will. This time he dodged the attack and moved toward them with his flute. They disappeared again, but reappeared near him. He quickly swung his flute and connected. The hooded ones disappeared again, but again reappeared not far away. Will again swung and connected before they could attack again, killing them simultaneously. He collected the dark gems they left behind and worked his way to the northwest corner of the island. There was a dark space there, and Will entered the gateway.

Inside the dark space, there was another Will statue with a floating ball on it, similar to the one he had seen in Itory Village. He stood in front of the statue and received the ball of energy.

"Psycho Slider can now be used!" boomed Gaia. "Only Will can use the Psycho Slider. This is an ability that can be used to attack, as well as investigate low lying areas. Charge up energy, and go."

Will had his weariness comforted by Gaia, then left the dark space heading south. Immediately, he noticed a small hole at the bottom of the sandy cliff. There was no way he would be able to get underneath it just by walking or even crawling. Maybe the ability he was just granted could help him though.

Will charged up energy, and ran hard toward the hole. He then slid onto the ground in an attempt to get under the cliff. He did not execute the Psycho Slider properly however, and he bashed his nose on the hard sandstone. Blood began to flow from his nose and face. He was extremely woozy as well, enough that he just laid there for about a minute or so. Eventually, he pulled his head through the opening to the other side. Next time, he would remember to get duck down lower.

On the other side of the cliff was a canyon of sorts, with a river running down the middle. Will walked down the narrow corridor, until he eventually reached a cave. Two more hooded spirits attacked him at the entrance. By now, he knew how to deal with these demons, and he made quick work of them. Once inside the cave, he noticed a great number of stone statues lying on the ground. There was one in the back that was much bigger and more detailed than the rest though. Will headed straight for it. As he stood in front of it, he heard a voice. "I am Rama, King of Mu."

Will turned around, expecting to see somebody behind him, but there was nobody there. The statue was talking to him. "I have seen the rise and destruction of the great civilization of Mu. All that remain are the spirits of those that have passed before. Hear the stories of the spirits of Mu."

Several more hooded sorcerers appeared all over the cave. Not sure if they were going to attack him, Will drew his flute. One of the sorcerers approached Will. "You have come to avenge us, have you not?" it asked him.

Will nodded. Another sorcerer came forward. "We watched the vampires change people into demons. We weren't sure what to do. Some of us wanted to run."

Another sorcerer moved forward. "But Mu is an island, where would we go? There were no materials for a boat, it would sink if made of stone."

The fourth sorcerer approached. "We started building an undersea tunnel. They dug on, not knowing how long it would take."

Will turned back around toward Rama. "So there is an undersea tunnel leading off this island?" he asked. "But if that's true, why are you all still here?"

"Our plight is in your hands. The tunnel of legend lies ahead. Please take this mystic statue." Rama said. The statue of Rama opened up with a flash, and once the light settled, a small yellow statue lay in front. There was also a new passageway leading out of the cave in the back. Will picked up the statue. It was his third of the journey, meaning that he now only had 3 more to find. As he walked out of the cave, he entered another steep canyon. The canyon eventually opened up to a sprawling, absolutely gorgeous beach. The sand was incredibly fine, and there were pretty seashells everywhere. Since it was nighttime, the moon shown onto the beach, giving it a nearly perfect gleam. The tunnel that led off the island was visible out in the distance, just beyond the breaking waves.

Lilly spoke from his pocket. "This island has been pretty creepy, but this view just about makes up for all of it."

Will walked forward onto the fine sand, but as he moved forward, he started to feel woozy. He heard another voice in his head. He recognized it as Freedan, the Dark Knight. "Will, you might not believe it now, but there is a great evil on this beach. I will help you." He lost consciousness for several seconds as he transformed.

Almost immediately as Freedan started walking across the sand, he noticed something quite sinister. Down in a pit in the sand was Erik. Not only was he tied up, but he was tied up to a bomb! But before Freedan could even approach him and attempt to free him, he noticed two dark figures on the horizon. It was the vampires!

"Look, it's him!" the vampire woman said. They flew down to the beach and stopped in front of Freedan. "He's the one who solved the riddle of the Seaside Palace."

"He's just like the ones who came before him." The vampire man replied. "It was a shame we had to let them go."

"Oh you! All you ever talk about is food!" the vampire woman bellowed.

"So do you!" the vampire man shouted back. "Wait! This isn't the time or place for this conversation. First, let's get that mystic statue. Get ready!"

The vampire woman nodded back to him, and the two charged forward. Freedan drew his sword, and fended off the swarming vampires with it. They swarmed the Knight and continued to charge straight at him. In such close-quarter fighting, Freedan had the advantage, and before too long, the black cloaks of the vampires were sliced and diced. After several blows from Freedan's sword, the vampires changed tactics. They moved together around the beach and shot some charged up energy blasts at the Dark Knight. One of these connected with such force that they knocked Freedan off his feet. In pain, Freedan struggled to get to his feet, fighting not only against lost stamina but also the weight of his armor. This allowed the vampire man to swoop in and bite him in the back of the neck. Freedan quickly responded by elbowing him in the face and stepping on his cloak, tripping him. The Knight followed by delivering several slashes from his sword, severely injuring the vampire man. The vampire woman broke up the attack by swooping in from behind and strangling Freedan by the neck. As the man did before her, she bit him hard in the neck and attempted to drink his blood.

Freedan struggled as the vampire woman gripped him. His neck and upper body was overcome with a splitting pain unlike anything he had ever felt. In an act of seeming desperation, he grabbed the vampiress by the head, and threw her sideways. She landed hard and tumbled over her right side. Freedan attempted to mortally wound her by stabbing her in the chest, but she moved and he got her left arm instead. Blood poured out. Freedan turned his attention back to the vampire man, who attempted to tackle the Dark Knight. Freedan's left leg buckled from the shot. The man helped his wife up and they charged up another energy blast. Due to their weakened state, it took longer than before to execute, and Freedan responded by charging. At the last second, Freedan hit the sand and the shot went over his head. The vampire man attempted to grab his head, but he got a swift kick to the face instead. The vampiress appeared to slunk off to the left, out of Freedan's view. Perhaps she was retreating from her injuries?

Noticing an opening, Freedan moved forward and grabbed the still woozy vampire. He punched him thrice in the face, and then body-slammed him into the sand. His eyes rolled into the back of his head upon the vicious blow. Just as he was about to finish him off, the vampiress grabbed him from behind and bit him again. The wretch! She had faked her injuries in a bout of treachery! Enraged, the Knight smacked her head with the end of his sword. The vampiress hung on for dear life. Freedan's strength was about gone. Down to his last chance, he dropped his sword and grabbed her head. With one last heave of tremendous force, he flipped her clear over his head. The vampiress landed on top of her husband. Freedan quickly retrieved his sword and slashed her twice in the throat, before plunging his blade straight through both of their bodies. They instantly exploded in a ball of flames. A few seconds later, Freedan fell to the ground with wooziness.

Will quickly ran over to Erik. The bomb had a timer on it, and two wires sticking out the back of it, one blue, one red. The timer read :57, and it was counting down. Will initially tried to undue the ropes surrounding Erik, but they were simply too numerous to hack through in less than one minute. So with less than thirty seconds left, Will made the determination that he had to cut one of the wires sticking out of the bomb. But he had to pick the right one, or else they would both be blown to smithereens. There was now only :24 showing on the clock. He picked up a razor sharp shell from the sand and contemplated the two wires, one blue and one red. Without thinking, he cut the blue wire with the shell. He held his breath as the timer clicked off and the bomb shut down. Erik was saved. 


	20. The Undersea Tunnel

**Chapter 20: The Undersea Tunnel**

Neil, Kara, and Lance ran down the sandy passageway onto the beach. They saw Will and Erik near a depression in the sand.

"Will! Erik! It's great to see you're safe!" Lance yelled.

"I don't see Lilly, where's Lilly?" Neil asked.

"I'm here!" Lilly shouted. She left Will's pocket and transformed out of her dandelion form. "Sorry Will, I was practically frozen from fear, so I couldn't help you."

"We met some guy named Rama." Kara said. "He said something about an undersea tunnel."

"I'm pretty sure that's it over there." Will said, pointing to the entranceway at the edge of the beach leading under the waves."

"Good, let's get out of here." Lance said.

The six adventurers, now reunited, entered the cave. They did not know how far the tunnel was, where it went, or how long it would take to get there. But they knew one thing, they wanted off of the inhospitable island of Mu.

Day 49 –

It was their third day in the tunnel. They had been walking almost constantly, and were beginning to realize that this was no small passageway.

Day 51 –

It was their fifth day of traveling. The group formed a circle to rest and talk about their travel thus far.

"Everybody, let's rest today." Neil said. "We've done enough traveling for now."

"My feet hurt so bad. I feel like I've walked 500 miles today." Erik said.

"This is crazy, having to walk so far!" Lance shouted.

"Enough!" Kara shouted. "All you've done is complain since we've started walking through here."

Everybody turned around and looked at Kara. The mere thought of her insulting somebody else for complaining was highly ironic. To her credit, Kara wasn't the spoiled brat that she was at the journey's outset, but compared to most of the others she was still decidedly high maintenance.

"Kara, Lance is right." Neil said. "I think we all feel the same way. I'm hungry, we should try to find food."

"Not those awful mushrooms again!" Kara shouted.

The mushrooms that Kara was referring to were indigenous to the cave, and grew throughout the subterranean passageway. To Will, they seemed to change their taste every day. One day, it would be baked, the next day boiled, and the next raw, awful, and horrible. He picked up a group of six mushrooms and put them into his pack. Upon walking back to the circle, Kara immediately made another remark.

"Oh no, Will found more mushrooms!" she shouted.

"Well, what can we do? It's better than starving." Lance said.

"Come on everybody, let's eat and get some rest." Neil said with conviction.

Sleeping on the hard rocky floor was another matter entirely. In some places there was some soft sand, but it was few and far between. More often than not, the six were forced sleep on rock hard surfaces. Their backs, shoulders, and legs hurt often not so much from the immense amount of walking they did every day, but from their sleep the previous nights. It was a tough way to live.

Day 54 –

It was the eighth day in the tunnel. They had finished walking for the day, and Will set up camp along an underground river. He was unable to sleep, so he stared at the river, no doubt wondering if they would be stuck in the tunnel forever.

Lance came over. "What's wrong Will, can't sleep." He asked him.

"Yeah. It's been quite difficult."

"Will, you've changed on this journey. Just look at yourself." Lance told him.

"Yeah, I don't really understand it myself, but I am able to use some strange powers, and my body has changed to the body of a warrior. I feel as if I can do anything. What was your reason for coming on this journey?" Will asked Lance.

"Let's just hope we can find the other mystic statues." Lance said. "I want to find my father. It's been so long since I've seen him, I just hope he is okay."

"My father is out there somewhere too, I just know it." Will said.

"Let's get some sleep. We'll talk about this more in the morning." Lance said.

Day 57 –

It was the eleventh day in the tunnel. The group continued on the long undersea road between Mu and Eastern Laurasia. They didn't know it, but they were now more than halfway to their destination. But that still left about ten days of hard travel.

Day 60 –

It was now two weeks since they started into the tunnel, and there was still no end in sight. The group convened early in the morning, or in what they thought was morning. It was impossible to tell what was day and night, since they had gone so long without seeing the light of day.

"Last night when we were sleeping, Kara kept waking me up. She kept talking about a weird noise on the ceiling." Neil said.

"I'm serious. There was a weird cracking sound in the rocks above us." Kara said.

"Kara, if it isn't one thing, it's another." Lance said.

Kara gave Lilly a rather mean look. "What, you don't believe me?" she asked.

"It's not that we don't believe you," Lance said, "We're just a little worn out."

As soon as Lance finished his sentence, there was a sharp clicking noise. It was coming from the ceiling. "Wait, I hear it again!" Kara said. A few seconds later, there was a loud banging against the top of the tunnel. It was forceful enough to knock several of the group members off their feet. They began to worry that the tunnel would collapse, or worse, flood with water.

"Maybe its Riverson." Neil said.

"Oh no! We've got to run!" Kara yelled.

"Run? Run where?" Erik asked frantically."

There was some more banging, then simply more clicking noises. Neil got up really close to the edge of the tunnel. "Listen everybody. It's morse code! Somebody is trying to communicate with us. Let me see if I can decode the message, wait!"

There was more clicking against the tunnel's sides. "This…is…Seth." Neil said.

"Seth?" Lance shouted with shock in his voice.

"Shh! Quiet!" Erik hissed. "Neil, continue."

"When I fell off the gold ship, I was swallowed by Riverson." Neil said. "When I was swallowed, my body changed to that of Riverson. This Riverson is a creature that lives in the ocean. They were once small, but they have become enormous due to the evolution from the light of a comet. This comet is changing the life forms of many living things on the planet earth."

Neil paused a moment, then continued. "I would like to continue this journey, but not in this body. You must figure out the riddle of the comet and the ruins."

"I don't hear anything now." Neil said.

"Wow, Seth, it's a shame to hear what's happened to him." Erik said.

"But how fortunate that we were able to hear this information. This will help us." Lance said.

"Well, let's move on." Will said. "We're getting closer to our destination."

Day 67 –

The day began just as glumly as any other, with raw mushrooms and rocky floors to sleep on. Morale was at an all-time low. But their luck was about to change.

"If we have to spend another day in this tunnel, I'm going to kill myself." Lance said.

"Lance, don't say that!" Lilly said. "We'll be fine, just keep your energy. It won't be much longer now."

"That's what you said five days ago Lilly." Kara said.

"Kara, I said we were getting close six days ago." Will said. "It might take another day, another week, possibly even another month. But we'll find our way to the end sooner or later."

They rounded a sharp corner to the right, the first such corner they had encountered since very early in the journey near Mu. This gave them a bit of hope that the end was near. Finally, about twenty minutes later, Lilly noticed a faint light coming from around the bend.

"Hey, there's light down there! We're here!" Lilly took off on a mad dash toward the light, and she was quickly followed by the remainder of the group. They quickly scaled the rocky exit, and emerged on a beautifully fine beach. They all shouted and yelled with glee as the sheer thrill of being out of the tunnel hit them. It wasn't until several minutes later that Will subdued the enthusiasm.

"Hey, I know we're happy to be out of the tunnel, but who's to say there's anybody or anything living over here?" he asked. 


	21. Angel Village

**Chapter 21: Angel Village**

Will and his friends made their way forward off the beach. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the sun was almost blinding. Or, at least it seemed that way after how long they had been in the underground tunnel. They did not know it yet, but the tunnel they had traveled through led them from Mu Island to the shores of eastern Laurasia, the huge continent that stretched over the Northern Hemisphere.

A few minutes after wandering off the beach, Lilly noticed a dirt path leading inland. "Maybe we should follow this and see if it leads to anybody or anywhere." She said.

"Sounds good to me," Lance said. Let's do that."

Will had begun to suspect something was up between Lance and Lilly. The two always seemed to go along with each other's ideas, and they had been talking to each other more and more as the adventure progressed. Not only had that, but Lilly's earlier feud with Kara died down to the point where it wasn't really relevant anymore. Lilly's change in demeanor was shocking to Will. No longer the headstrong adventurer she was back in the Incan Ruins, she had become calmer and overall much happier. Perhaps the near-death experience in the airplane, which she took particularly hard, had hastened the transformation.

About two miles up the path they came to a clearing on the plains. There were several ladders leading underground within the cleared area, and there were rocks surrounding what appeared to be houses dug out of the ground.

"Oh, not more underground tunnels!" Erik shouted.

"Hey, there's a sign over there." Lance said. He went up to read it. The sign read "Travelers, please use this room. Thanks. The Angels of Angel Village."

"Angel Village?" Will asked.

"Does this mean that there are actual angels living here?" Neil asked.

"I don't know." Lance said. In either case, I'm tired. We should rest here."

Neil agreed. "Everybody, let's gather inside and rest a spell." He said.

Kara started walking over to the left, away from the others. "I want to see the angels and explore this place! I've always wanted to see an angel! If nobody else wants to come with me, then I guess I'm off."

Will tried to dissuade her from going off on her own, but it was to no avail. He told her to just be back by nightfall. Some of the others criticized Will for letting Kara leave on her own, but Will ignored their complaints. When Kara had her mind set to do something, there was simply no stopping her. Only later would he learn the heartbreaking severity of his decision.

Inside the underground travelers' quarters, Will was confronted by Lance. Apparently, his inhibitions regarding him and Lilly were not incorrect.

"Will, I need to talk to you about something." Lance said. "It's about Lilly."

"Anything Lance." Will said.

"I've changed on this adventure too, and Lilly is a big reason why. Will, I seem to have developed feelings for Lilly. But, I'm not really sure how to tell her."

"Perhaps you should get her a gift." Will said.

Lance thought about it a bit. "Yes, that's a great idea. But what?" He thought it over for a short while. Three options flashed into his mind, a bouquet of flowers, a necklace, or a sweet kiss. "Will, what do you think about these?" he asked.

"Lance, I think a bouquet of flowers would be a great gift for Lilly." Will said.

"Great, that's what I'll do then. I'll find a nice group of flowers somewhere and I'll gather them up for Lilly. Thanks Will. It's good to have friends.

Following this conversation, Will talked to Neil and Erik. It was evident that they were just glad to be off their feet in a decent home again, even if it was below ground. The rest of the afternoon was a blur. He thought about his father, and where the next mystic statue might lie. But as the sun began to go down, he started to think about Kara. He wondered why she hadn't come back. They went to bed that night with Kara still nowhere to be seen.

Day 68 –

"So you wish to be painted." Ishtar asked.

"Yes."

"Okay then, give me your best pose, and we'll start." Ishtar said.

Will awoke early in the morning, before everybody else. He noticed that indeed, Kara had not returned during the night. Although he had been keen to let Kara go off and do her own thing, her not returning concerned Will greatly. He feared something had happened to her. He immediately left the room and went back up to the surface. He walked across the clearing over to the entrance of Angel Village. As he climbed down the ladder into the underground settlement, he privately hoped for the best.

Upon entering, he noticed two angels chatting next to an underground river. They saw Will walk toward them. "And who might you be?" the angel wearing black said.

"My name is Will. I come from the town of South Cape."

The other angel spoke. "Welcome to Angel Village. We are the angels, a race of descendants of the island of Mu. Our ancestors had lived on Mu for generations, before they dug an undersea tunnel and traveled here, to Laurasia."

"So you came through the tunnel too?" The other angel asked. "We live underground because we cannot survive in the bright light of the sun. If we are exposed to sunlight, we will perish."

Will thanked the angels for their welcome, and moved on to a lower level of town. He came to a hard steel door, which was guarded by another angel. "And who might you be?" the angel asked him.

"My name is Will, of South Cape. I have come to Angel Village to search for a companion of mine."

"Well young man, I might be able to help you." The angel said. "Are you searching for a young woman named Kara?"

Will was suddenly relieved. Apparently the angel knew something of Kara's whereabouts. "Where is she?" he asked.

"Yesterday, Kara came through here, wanted to be painted by our great painter, Ishtar. I told her that Ishtar's studio was several rooms past this door." Will charged forward toward the door, but the Angel stopped him. "However, I must warn you, there are demons of darkness within this section of Angel Village. Only the strong of body and will survive is this dark corridor."

A chill ran down Will's spine. Kara might have been injured or taken captive by the demons, or perhaps worse. "Let me pass. Now." He said.

"If you must go, I will open the door for you." The angel said. She opened the door, and Will passed through into a dark hallway. There didn't appear to be any demons in sight, but that didn't mean they weren't there. Suddenly, a bat dived down from the ceiling and attacked. It flew right into Will's face, stinging his eye a bit with the impact. A big group of bats dove down next. Will took a few shots, but was able to smack several others with his flute. The bats were difficult to deal with since they were small and hard to see in the darkness. Will decided to let them be and traveled into the next room. In this corridor were two jewel boxes, both of which had been opened. It was a sure sign that Kara had already passed by. He knew that she would never pass up an open jewel box without taking anything inside.

Behind the jewel boxes were several skeleton like creatures, similar to those that he had fought against in Edward Castle's prison. Will knew how to deal with these demons, or so he thought as he attacked with his flute. But the demon reacted violently, and it charged straight at Will after taking a shot from his flute. The skeleton knocked Will down with a shoulder block. Will picked himself up off of the dirt floor and re-engaged the demon, eventually defeating it. As he progressed down the corridor, he was beginning to wonder how Kara could have possibly made it through such a treacherous area. His heart started to sink.

After turning a sharp corner, Will raced into a wind tunnel. For whatever reason, the wind blew very hard in this particular tunnel. He had to practically sprint across the dangerous tunnel, which was filled with lizard demons as well. Once again, he thought of Kara. Could she make it across such a dangerous area? She could run pretty fast, of that Will was certain, but she would have had to avoid the demons too. Finally, Will reached the end of the wind tunnel and slid through a doorway on the left. As it turned out, the room he slid into was Ishtar's studio. He tried to pull up, but ended up bumping the small bench where Ishtar was working.

Ishtar got up and dusted off her wings. For an angel, she was actually quite small and dainty, but she did have a temper. "I take it you're the one who has come for Kara." She said strictly.

Will didn't say anything. "Very well then, here's what you must do. The people who are painted are consumed by the painting. One must complete four trials in order to return them to their original state."

Will was absolutely horrified by what he was hearing. He ran out of the studio and turned to the left. He went through the door and saw a beautiful painting of Kara on the wall. After admiring it for a few seconds, he turned around and walked back to the right, where another angel was blocking the entranceway. The angel was Ishtar's apprentice. Not knowing what he had to do, he walked back into the studio.

"Are you ready to begin the task of recovery?" Ishtar asked. "If you complete the four trials, I'll give back the girl."

Will looked at Ishtar with all the fury of a raging bull. "I intend to succeed." He said.

Will walked to the right and entered the first room. Ishtar's voice echoed in the room. "Study this room well. When you think you've mastered it, leave and enter the next room to the right." The room had a table with two chairs in it, and had an orange jug sitting in the corner. It was fairly plain. He looked over the room, and then left and entered the second room. He immediately noticed that the jug in the corner was blue, not orange. Ishtar's voice echoed again. "Show me how this room is different." She demanded. Will picked up the jug and held it high above his head. "Correct, the jug has changed color. Move on."

The third and fourth rooms had the same result, and Will quickly passed on. The fifth and sixth rooms were trickier though. The fifth room had the same chairs and table in the front, four jugs in the corner, and it also had two statues and a jewel box along the back wall. He examined the jewel box, which had a medicinal herb inside it. Will took the herb and entered room number six, which had the exact same appearance as the room before it. "Show me what is different from the room before." Ishtar demanded. Will didn't know what to do at first. Without thinking or answering, he walked up to the jewel box. He opened it, and it contained a red jewel. A smile beamed across Will's face as he held the jewel high in the air. "That's right, how have the contents of the jewel box changed?" Ishtar asked.

The seventh and eighth rooms, which were filled with Ishtar's best paintings and sculptures, appeared to be exactly identical as well. But in the eighth room, Will noticed a faint breeze that blew his hair around. When prompted by Ishtar, Will placed his hands on his head. Ishtar congratulated Will and called him back to her studio. When he arrived back in the studio, Ishtar gave Will a jewel box. "Inside this jewel box is magic dust. If you truly love Kara, you will spread this over her painting and kiss it. You must tell her to not to be so hasty in the future."

Will felt like beating Ishtar senseless for taking Kara captive, but instead he thanked her and walked into the room with Kara's portrait. He spread the magic dust over the painting, then paused a second. "Kara, please return to your original form." Will said as he gently kissed the painting. There were several flashes of light, after which Will noticed that the picture of Kara was now a blank canvas. He noticed Kara enter the room from the doorway.

"Will, sorry for running off like I did." Kara said meekly.

"Kara! You make me so mad!" Will screamed. "Have you no brain, you could have been killed!"

"Waaahhh!" Kara cried as she ran into Will's arms. "I screwed up real bad. I'll never run off from you guys ever again. I'll never forget what happened today."

Will held her close. He wasn't sure whether to smack her all the way back to South Cape for getting into such trouble, or whack Ishtar for clearly seducing her into a trap. He settled for taking Kara back to the others, where he stood back as Lilly, Lance, and Neil ripped into her soul for her misdeed. Strangely, as Kara was grilled by the rest of the party, Will couldn't help but feel sorry for her.


	22. The Floating City

**Chapter 22: The Floating City**

"Look, I wanted to go on my own, and I made a big mistake. My apologies to everyone."

"We forgive you. Just be sure to think about the rest of us before you do something like that again." Lance said.

"I think Kara's been thoroughly punished. Let's just be glad that she's back safely." Neil said. He cleared his throat. "Besides, I overheard that there is a city about a week's walk southwest of here. This particular town is built on floating rafts in the sea."

"That sounds really cool! We should check that out." Erik said.

Will shook his head in agreement. The next morning, they would set out.

Day 69 –

The terrain leading out of Angel Village was quite mountainous, more so than anything they had seen since Itory Village. Lilly, being the expert mountain climber, led the group through three arduous days up in the mountains of Eastern Laurasia. Although the climbing was tough, they all agreed that it was much preferable than being submerged in an undersea tunnel.

Late on day 71, they began to descend several winding trails on the other side of the mountains. This part of Laurasia was very remote, there were no people around for miles on end. But there were plenty of wild plants and animals in the area, including some wild fruits and vegetables that tasted wonderful. In the opinion of both Kara and Lilly, it was the best food they had seen all journey. The trails continued to descend early on day 72, until eventually they reached the coast of the Indian Ocean. Once they reached the seacoast, Will took back over the lead. As a whole, they were uncertain of how much farther this town was from their location, but Will figured as long as they stayed near the coast they would find it eventually.

The land near the coast began to turn into a wet swampland on day 73. The grass became higher and the bugs began to hound the group day and night. His appearance for once being his downfall, the bugs flocked toward Neil. The young inventor struggled with the knats and mosquitoes that surrounded him like locusts. Lance also was quite bothered by the blood-sucking insects. However, they said nothing that led onto their hardship. The hot sunny weather in the mornings gave way to rainy conditions in the afternoon. The humidity was crazy high, yet nobody complained. It was about as rough as a road could be, but after their experience in the tunnel, nothing could get them down.

Finally, as the sun was reaching its highest point on day 74, they spotted the town. It only looked like a collection of houses on the shoreline at first, but upon closer inspection, the series of rafts, piers, and planks appeared to spread out a mile into the ocean.

"It's a good thing the seas look calm here." Lance pointed out.

"You are correct, my friend." Will said. "I wonder what's in this town."

The group entered the floating city, called Watermia, at roughly half past noon. Almost immediately, they were accosted by a group of people standing near the entrance, which was literally right on the beach.

"Welcome to Watermia." The young lady said. "It's been a long while since we've seen such a collection of youth."

A young man agreed. "We have seen fewer and fewer travelers recently. Come, we will lead you to proper accommodation." The two turned around and led the group through the wooden streets of Watermia. The whole town sat in a natural harbor, surrounded by sandbars on three sides, which helped anchor the city and keep the waves out. The houses were constructed like tree houses, with stilts anchored into the floating wooden frame. The people entered their houses from a ladder leading up from the middle, right underneath an entranceway that was cut out of the floor. Will couldn't help but notice the architectural genius of what he was witnessing. Kara was wide-eyed. This was where she wanted to be!

The lady and gentleman led the group to house in the far south of the city, at least a half mile out into the ocean. "Here, this is the house of Luke, a master fisherman. He is heading out on a voyage to the seas this afternoon. You may use his house while he is gone." Just as the lady finished, Luke climbed down the ladder leading out of the house. He discussed a few things with her, and then turned around to face Will and the others. "You may use my home while I am gone. Please do take good care of it."

"We certainly will." Neil said. The others nodded their heads in agreement. Luke left on his boat, and they climbed up the ladder into the house. It was quite small, as the town of Watermia imposed strict regulations on size of buildings. There were only two beds, so the members drew straws for them.

Will took nap after looking over the town a bit. Upon awaking, he noticed that Lance was gone.

"Where's Lance?" Will asked.

"I'm not sure." Neil said. "I haven't seen him all afternoon."

Kara and Erik shook their heads. Will was about to leave and look for him when Lilly climbed up the ladder into the house. "I know where Lance is. He's about two blocks west of here, he was looking for somebody of importance. He told me to leave him alone."

"I'll figure out what he's up to." Erik said.

"No." Will said. "I have a feeling that I know who Lance is looking for. Stay here."

Will left the house and walked down the wooden street leading to the west. He went to the area that Lilly had specified and climbed up the ladder into a house. It wasn't good manners, but even at home Will never really thought much of entering other people's houses without asking. Upon entering the house, he noticed Lance standing on the right side of the room, next to an older man sitting in a rocking chair. "Will, this is my father." Lance said. Will was shocked, not so much at the fact that Lance's father was alive, but at just how sickly he looked. He was happy that Lance's search had not been in vain, and it gave him hope for his own journey. However, his face looked pale, and his body looked positively malnourished. "Is it okay if I talk to him?" Will asked. Lance nodded.

"I went on the journey to the Tower of Babel with Olman." Lance's father said. "But I don't remember it, or how I got here."

"You don't remember anything?" Will asked.

Lance's father nodded. "I don't really know who I am, or where I've been."

Lance interjected. "They say he's suffering from some unknown illness, possibly contracted at the Tower of Babel. There's a giant sand fanger [centipede] at the Great Wall of China that provides medicine that cures a wide array of diseases. Maybe it could help my father." Will turned around to leave, but then Lance hollered to him. "Wait Will I'm coming too." Let's go to our room."

Lance and Will walked back over to their new residence. They walked over to the table in the back of the room, where the others were already sitting.

"Well, now that we're all back together…" Will started.

"…It's a great time to celebrate Lilly's birthday." Lance finished.

Lilly started looking around incredulously. "Everybody remembered my birthday?"

"Ha ha, Kara bring that." Neil said, pointing to the bookshelf in the corner of the room. Kara walked over to the corner and carefully brought over a really nice cake. "Yes, birthday cake! Neil made it!" Kara said loudly.

Heh, my first cake. It was harder than building an airplane." Neil admitted.

"Thank you everyone." Lilly said, as she proceeded with cutting the first piece. And thus began the celebration of Lilly's birthday. The party lasted through the evening and into the nighttime. Near the end of the party, Lance approached Lilly. "Lilly, could I speak to you in private?" he asked. Lilly agreed, and the two went outside. By this time, the moon was shining, and its reflection off the waters of Watermia was absolutely beautiful.

"Lilly, I wanted to give you this. It's a birthday present." Lance said as he pulled out a bouquet of flowers.

"Oh Lance, they're roses. I love roses. Rose buds, they'll open up into roses." Lilly said.

But Lance wasn't done. "Lilly, there's also something else that I would like to tell you." He paused for a moment. "Yes, the words are harder to say than a tongue twister."

"What is it Lance?" Lilly asked.

"Lilly, I love you." Lance said.

There was a moment of awkward silence. Lance could tell that Lilly's mind was racing. "You don't have to answer right away." Lance said. "I just want to tell you how I feel."

Lilly backed up a step, then a second, and then turned into a dandelion and flew away quickly to the north. "Hey Wait!" Lance shouted as Lilly flew the coop.

When Lance returned to the house several minutes later, he was dazed and confused. He didn't know if Lilly's actions represented a refusal, or if she was simply overwhelmed by the suddenness of his words.

"What happened out there?" Erik asked.

"Nothing." Lance said.

"Where's Lilly?" Neil asked.

"She'll be back, she just had to do something." Lance said.

Will sensed that something was amiss, but even he was not able to get any information out of Lance, who was clearly quite miserable. The rest of the group went to bed that night without any idea of what had happened.

Day 75 –

When Will awoke the next morning, he noticed that Lilly was still missing. Not only that, but Lance was now gone as well. Now he was really suspicious. His suspicions did not take long to be confirmed, for he found a letter from Lance in his sack. The letter read, "Will, I have gone to the Great Wall of China. I am going in order to find some curing medicine for my father. Lilly has left, she left me yesterday when I told her I loved her. I do not know where she has gone. I've prepared a necklace of nice sea stones for her, and I hope to give it to her if she returns. I wasn't going to tell anybody, but I am telling you. Please don't let the others know. Lance."

Will put the letter back into his sack, then started to pack up his meager provisions. He put his sack over his shoulders and started climbing down the ladder.

"Where are you going Will?" Kara asked.

"I'm going to the Great Wall." Will replied. 


	23. China's Great Wall

**Chapter 23: China's Great Wall**

Day 76 –

A day and a half walk north of Watermia stood the incredible Great Wall of China. The Wall, built as a means of deterring invasion from the north, had been built by the Chinese kingdom centuries ago. For Will, it was an easy trip. It was only a little of a day's travel, and it didn't involve crossing over any mountains or cold regions, though the land just north of Watermia was definitely swampy in nature. Upon reaching the wall, Will quickly found a way inside the structure, and before long, was standing on top of the wall itself. Since the wall was so vast, he had not a clue where his best friend might be. A few days earlier, Lance had mentioned something about a giant centipede that lived inside the Great Wall. It was this insect that had curing medicines secreted inside its organs. Will figured that any sign of this giant sand fanger would lead him to Lance.

Eventually, he reached a roadblock in the road atop the Wall. He ventured down a staircase to bypass around the roadblock. Turning the corner out of the staircase, he found a room filled with all sorts of demons. There were snakes, there were giant eyeballs that shot flames, there were archer-like enemies, and many more. Two archers, immediately upon seeing Will, notched arrows and fired. One of the arrows connected with Will's right arm. He let out a huge yell of pain as he fell to the floor. He retreated back into the stairwell, where he ripped the arrow from his flesh. He screamed and cursed as the pain from pulling the arrow out was worse than the initial hit. Blood poured from his arm.

Will re-entered the hallway and immediately charged the archers. They shot at him, but they missed horribly as Will zigged and zagged toward them. The eyeball attempted to shoot flames at him, but these were way off their mark. He punched one in the face with his right hand, and belted the other with his flute, now in his left hand. He tripped it, and took its quiver. Using the quiver as a weapon, he defeated the archers. After they died and left dark gems behind, Will used a medicinal herb on his sore right arm. It helped stop the bleeding and clot the wound, but it still hurt. He would be using his left hand to do most of the fighting from here on.

As he reached the other side of the room, one thought hit him. What happened to the snakes he saw earlier? He ventured into the stairwell leading down further into the Wall, and in this stairwell he was immediately ambushed by two snakes. One he was able to subdue with his flute, but the other was a little trickier. It wrapped around his left leg, and Will was unable to get it off. The snake bit him in the calf, just below the knee. He smacked it twice in the back of the head with his flute, and it let go, but it bit him again near the ankle. Angered, Will belted it again, and then smashed his foot into its head, scrambling its brain.

"I just hope the snake isn't venomous." Will said as he proceeded through another room full of flame throwing eyes. These were easy to avoid, and Will was back up another set of staircases to the top of the Wall. He was around the roadblock and was able to continue on to the east. As he entered the next chamber, he noticed something that caught his eye. There was a collection of stones laying on the ground. These weren't stones from this area either, they were from the ocean. Will immediately thought back to Lance's letter. Maybe these were fragments of the necklace that he had made for Lilly? If there were more of these stones up ahead, maybe they would help lead Will to Lance. He continued to the east with all speed. It wasn't long before he came to a narrow part of the road that had a bunch of holes in it leading down inside. Will decided to take his chances.

He jumped into the first hole, and fell down one level. On this level were several snakes and not much else. He avoided the snakes and jumped down another hole. This led down another level. On this level were several of those dreaded archers. They notched their arrows and shot at Will. He dodged with a backflip, and then rushed for yet another hole in the road. He jumped down the hole just before they could get a second shot off. This decision was hasty and costly, as Will ended up overshooting the floor below. He fell three levels before crashing to the stone floor forty feet below. He fell hard on his right foot, leg, and hip. For once in his life, he had finally paid for jumping off a perfectly good building.

"This isn't going as well as I had hoped." Will thought as he struggled to get to his feet. His whole right side, between his arm and his leg, were now throbbing in pain. He wasn't sure if he could even walk much less jump down the remaining hole down to the Wall's floor. Luckily for Will, there was a dark space on the ledge he was on. He entered the dark space and limped forward in front of Gaia.

"It looks as if you're weak. I will comfort your weariness, close your eyes." Gaia paused a minute, then spoke again. "What exactly did you do to yourself? Your arm and leg were practically broken apart."

"I've had a rough day." Will said.

"You must learn to be more careful out there, especially in ruins such as this. It is a long road to the Tower of Babel. I do have an ability for you to learn that will help you navigate through the Great Wall. It is called the Spin Dash. You should receive it from the statue to your left. Now go."

Will was in such pain when he entered the room, that he did not even notice the Will statue with the floating blue orb to his left. He stood in front of the statue and received the blue orb. "Spin Dash can now be used." Gaia bellowed. "Only Will can use the Spin Dash. Use this ability to attack and climb over hills and through roadblocks. Face the intended direction, charge up energy, and start spinning."

Feeling strong once again and armed with a new ability, Will left the dark space and jumped down the remaining ten feet to the floor. He turned around and headed up a gigantic stairwell that went up six stories back to the top of the Wall. He continued to the east, but before he could get much further down the rocky road, he found more sea stones. Now Will was absolutely sure that Lance was indeed at the Great Wall, and that the stones were a trail leading to him. He ran with all speed to the east for a minute, before coming to another roadblock. This roadblock contained a ramp at its base, giving Will a perfect opportunity to try out his new ability. He faced the ramp, charged up energy and then started spinning around. A few seconds later, the psychic energy released and he went flying toward the roadblock. His momentum carried him right over it. He landed softly, and then went over another such roadblock before landing again. In all, Will cleared four roadblocks. Next up the trail was another staircase, but before the staircase were yet more stones. It was also at this moment that Will heard a voice from behind him.

"Will, wait for me!" It was Lilly. A dandelion flew in from behind. "Hey, if you're looking for Lance, I want to go with you. Lilly flew into Will's pocket. "It's been a while since I've occupied Will's pocket. Well, let's get going." She said.

Will wasted no time making his way through the next few chambers of the inner Wall. There were demons galore, including several archers. Luckily, they did not see him. He decided to try to give them a taste of their own medicine. He took the bow he had recovered from the archers earlier and notched an arrow. His first shot was so badly missed that the archers didn't even notice it. Will tried again, and amazingly, his second shot went right into the chest of one of the demons. He retreated into the stairwell as the two remaining archers turned around. They decided to investigate the stairwell, which was a bad idea. Will jumped out at them and smacked both with his flute. One fell over a ledge to his death, and the other was no match for Will at close range fighting. Before long he was dead. Will collected the dark gems, and moved on through the chamber. He noticed a jewel box on the left, which contained a red jewel. Added to the three he found in Angel Village, he now had 27 in total.

When Will re-emerged at the top of the Wall, he continued to the east. Before long, he came to a fallen pillar blocking his path. It was positioned in such a way that using the Spin Dash to clear it could send him flying off the Wall entirely. It was too big of a risk. He noticed that there was an opening in the right side of the road. There was a series of ledges leading down the side of the wall that he could jump down to get around the pillar. The ground below was very sandy, not rocky like most of the terrain in the area. It was just then that Lilly spoke to him.

"Will, I think I see it. The sand fanger. It's down there!"

Will leapt down a few ledges to get a closer look, and indeed, the giant centipede was lying in the left corner of the sandy ridge. It didn't appear to be awake, and did not appear to be much of a threat. By now, Will was committed anyway; he had to jump down to the sand to get around the fallen pillar. There was a ladder on the other side of the ridge that he could use to climb back up the face of the Wall. He jumped down the remaining ledges to the sand below. Once he reached the sand, he took a last look at the sand fanger. It appeared so peaceful, yet so potentially dangerous. He was about to move out when he noticed something else, something really important.

He just stood there for over a minute, incredulous. Lilly spoke meekly from his pocket. "Will, why are we just standing here? We need to get out of here before that thing wakes up."

"Lilly, we're not going anywhere." Will said.

"What? Why?" Lilly asked.

"There's a mystic statue right beneath the sand fanger's head." Will said.

Lilly froze. She knew exactly what this meant. "Oh no, you can't!" she screamed.

"Lilly, I have to. I must collect the mystic statues to save my father. I'll do anything to save him."

Lilly groaned. This was foolhardy. Will knew it too, but what else was he to do? He had no choice. Besides, if the sand fanger was truly evil, Freedan would manifest himself and help Will defeat it. "This is a helpful creature." Will reminded himself as he approached it. The sand fanger's eyes looked directly at Will as he got close. At first it did not move, and Will continued to move slowly toward the mystic statue. But to get to it, he would have to jump over the centipede's sprawling body twice, and then jump back without disturbing it. If he missed a step, or if it flinched during the process, he could be crushed.

Will never had a chance to jump. As soon as he got close to the fanger's head, the giant centipede grabbed the mystic statue and dove under the sand. It re-emerged over to Will's left and shot several eggs in Will's direction. Evidently, it wasn't going to give up the statue without a fight. Will batted one of them back at the fanger with his flute. The battle was on.

The sand fanger dived back beneath the surface and jumped high up into the air. It then turned around near the top of the Great Wall and attempted a dive-bomb attack. Will rolled out of the way and swung his flute at the fanger's head. It was a direct hit, right in-between the pincers. The centipede slapped its tail at Will in response. Will tried to jump over it, but he wasn't quick enough. It nailed him in the chest and knocked him backward about ten feet. He landed in the sand, very near the Wall itself. He got up and decided to change tactics. He started using his newfound weapon, his bow, from long range. Two arrows missed, and the centipede attempted another dive-bomb attack. Will again moved out of the way. He tried once again with his arrows. This time, one arrow landed near the centipede's neck. Another shot landed near his tail. The sand fanger thrashed around and knocked into Will again with his tail, though this time not quite as hard as before.

When it slapped at him again, Will grabbed the tail and hung on for dear life. He took his flute and slashed it twice, before the fanger threw him off. Will got ready to attack again, but before he could, the centipede smashed his head into him. He was tossed like a rag doll down into the sand. His chest and right shoulder were gashed from the shot from its pincers. With his strength starting to wane a bit, Will knew that he had to do something decisive to win the battle. He charged up for a Spin Dash as the fanger dived beneath the sand. Will planned to hit the fanger right between the eyes as it jumped for a dive-bomb attack. He launched into the attack as soon as he saw the sandy surface start to shift. But the fanger never brought its body above the surface. Instead, it paused to hatch several of its eggs in an effort to get its babies to attack Will as well, and only its head peaked above the surface. Will had no time to brace himself for the collision. He collided with the fanger's head and tumbled over four or five times, finally coming to rest near the edge of the sandy ridge. He had a nasty gash on his right leg from driving it right through the fanger's sharp pincers, and his head was ringing as if it was concussed. He laid there for what seemed like hours. Finally, he got up gingerly.

When he returned to the site of the collision, he noticed that the fanger's head had been busted open. Bodily juices were flowing out of its insides. Between the pincers laid the yellow mystic statue. Fearing that it was a trap, Will moved quickly toward the head and grabbed the statue and ran. The centipede never tried to stop him, for it was dead. As he started climbing the ladder up out of the sandy lagoon, Lilly spoke. "Will, you are really a piece of work." She said.

"What do you mean by that?" Will asked.

"You really didn't have to kill it. It was a creature that helped hundreds of people."

Will disagreed. "It had something I needed, no, that my father needed. I tried to obtain it peacefully, but it didn't give it up. I had no choice."

Will reached the top of the wall and walked to the east. He traveled down the next staircase, and in the next room he found Lance! He was standing in the corner. Lilly immediately reformed out of her dandelion form.

"Lance, you're crazy! I've been worried sick!" Lilly yelled.

"Really, I don't know how you made it here. This place is dangerous." Will said. His wounds certainly backed up his point.

"Yeah, I know I worried both of you. But, I got some medicine to cure my father." Lance said. "That's the most important thing."

Will was stunned. Lance had taken on the sand fanger and had extracted its bodily fluids without it even injuring him. Will realized that his course of action for gaining the mystic statue might not have been the best decision he'd ever made.

Lance motioned to Will. He whispered to him. "Will, will you take care of Lilly for me?" he asked.

Will thought, but then he shook his head no. "This is your life, take advantage of it." Will whispered back. He handed Lance the sea stones he had picked up earlier. He then left Lance and Lilly alone in the stone chamber.

Upon Will's departure, Lance made his move. "Lilly, I have something else to give you. It is a necklace made of sea rocks. However, it seems to have come apart a bit. There are only a few stones left, will you take them?" Lance fixed the necklace and put it around Lilly's neck. Lilly instantly backed away, and turned into a dandelion, just as she had in Watermia. Lance shouted as he expected Lilly to run away. But Lilly did not run.

"I won't run this time." Lilly said. "All of this has just happened so fast, that I just don't know how to react to it all. I don't want to show my face right now."

About a minute passed. For Lance it was the longest minute of his life. He wasn't sure what Lilly's response would be. She spoke again. "Lance, back in Watermia, you surprised me, and I didn't know what to do. I was confused. But now my mind is clear. I want to give you an answer." She changed back into her normal form.

"I love you too." Lilly said. "I want to spend the rest of my days with you."

"Wow." Lance said. "This is wonderful. I never thought I would hear those words, I feel like I'm walking on the clouds."

"It's like a million summer days." Lilly said.

Lance and Lilly got closer, as if they could both sense what was going to happen next. Right there, in the Great Wall of China, they shared their first kiss. It was the best day of the journey, and possibly their lives.


	24. A Dangerous Game

**Chapter 24: A Dangerous Game**

Day 77 -

It was a long, arduous day at the Great Wall of China for Will, Lilly, and Lance. The three wearily camped out near a bend in the wall on the night of Day 76, then got up very early for the trip back to the floating city. Unlike the trip to the wall which was almost entirely uphill, the road back through the temperate, then swampy landscape was much easier to handle on the way back. They arrived back in Watermia just before sunset on day 77. Lilly and Lance, still in good spirits following their opening show of affection at the Great Wall, had another romantic moment while watching the sun set.

Will headed back to their rented house, where Neil and Erik were sitting at the table. Kara was gone, out to make a wish on a lotus leaf in the moonlight. It was Watermia tradition that those who made wishes upon lotus leaves on a full moon night would have their wishes granted.

"I trust that you've claimed what you were looking for?" Neil asked Will.

"Yes." Will said.

"And you found Lance?" Erik asked.

"Yes, he is back, so is Lilly. They are outside sitting on the floating dock."

"That is very good. I was really worried about those two. First Lilly just ran away, and then Lance left unexpectedly. It was as if our whole family was coming apart." Erik said.

"Yeah well, you'll never believe this. Lance and Lilly are in love." Will said.

"No way!" Erik shouted. "Really?"

"I'm not that surprised." Neil said. "Lance seemed to have his eye on her for a while now, I just think he was a little frightened by his own feelings. I had a feeling he would get over it and he did at Lilly's birthday party. Good for them."

Will cleared his throat. "Neil, when I was at the Great Wall, I noticed a giant desert to the west that seemed to sprawl out for miles on end. It would appear that to get to the next ruins we will have to cross this desert. Do you have any idea how big it is or where we need to go?"

Neil replied, "There is a giant city to the east of here, across the desert. It is called Euro, and it is the home of the Rolek Company. My parents are the owners of Rolek and they live in Euro, they could probably help us."

"But how are we supposed to get across the desert?" Erik asked. "Our small jugs will run out of water before we get there."

"Yeah. We almost didn't make it to Nazca. If this desert is even bigger, it would be suicide to even attempt a crossing on foot." Lance said.

"Therein lies the problem my friends." Neil said. "The only way we can ensure our survival across the desert is to get a kruk."

"What's a kruk?" Will asked.

"Kruks are mammals that can go for days, even weeks without water supplies. Labor traders and merchants use them all the time to get across some of the world's driest places. The only problem is, kruks are expensive, way more expensive than any of us could afford."

"I've been collecting red jewels." Will said. "We could trade them for kruks."

"No, it doesn't work that way. The only reason that anybody would have a kruk would be for desert transportation, those traders and merchants depend on the animals for their livelihood. There's no chance they would give up their animals for jewels, certainly not for the small amount that you have now. We might be able to get 1 kruk, 2 at most, but we need 6."

"How in the world are we going to get six kruks?" Erik asked.

"I don't know." Neil said.

Lance and Lilly entered the room. They were briefed on the conversation. The talking died down for a while until Will remembered something he had heard in the streets of Watermia a few days earlier.

"Betting small money won't earn you big money, however, if you are willing to risk your life, you could make a fortune."

Then another soundbite came to him. "On a full moon night, the daringest of gamblers play Russian glass."

It was a full moon night. He and his traveling party had hit an impasse and needed to find a way forward. Figuring he had nothing to lose, Will walked over toward the gambling hut on the east side of town. He went up to the door, but found that it was locked, which was strange as the place was normally quite busy during the nighttime. Then he noticed a piece of parchment next to the latch. It read, "full moon night, we play on the island. Take the lotus leaf." Will didn't exactly understand this message at first, but as he looked around the backside of the gambling hut he saw a small island out in the distance with many people gathered on it. There were giant lotus leaves in the water behind the hut. His adventurous ways really starting to perk, Will got on the lotus and started riding it across to the island. The short trip only took about four minutes, and upon getting to the shore, he was immediately accosted by a native.

"Do you wish to play Russian glass?" the man asked him.

Will paused for a second, then replied. "Yes." He was up for some gambling. He had brought his red jewels with him and was ready to bargain, trade, or outright risk the booty to get what he needed.

The man didn't seem so sure of Will's intention. "Are you sure?" he asked surprised. "This is Russian glass, a very dangerous game. You could lose your life playing this game. I will ask you again, are you sure you wish to play?"

Will's response was quick. "Yes."

The man sighed. "Oh well, your opponent is standing over to the left. Go over and talk to him."

The man that would be Will's opponent was a tall man, maybe a little over six feet tall. He was big and strong, and wore a big hat on his head. As he walked toward him, he could hear the murmors of the crowd on the island. These native Watermians knew that Will's opponent was quite skilled at gambling, and had netted a big fortune. They could not believe that this young man had the nerve to challenge him. The opponent studied Will closely, then asked him if he needed an explanation of the rules. Will nodded, and the man continued. "There are 5 glasses on the ground here filled with beverage. One is filled with deadly poison. The one left alive at the end of the game wins. I'll start first."

The glasses were laid out in a W-shaped pattern. The man walked up to glass #3, at the center bottom of the W. He let our a fierce yell, and downed the drink quickly. He then walked back to Will. "Your turn, don't run away scared." he said. Will's face was flushed. He had miscalculated just how much danger was at hand. He walked forward toward glass #2 very gingerly. "Tonight, a young man will lose his life!" one of the spectators shouted as he picked up the glass. Will inspected it carefully, then closed his eyes as he downed the drink. He stood there for several seconds afterward, then walked back toward his opponent.

"Good! My turn next." the opponent said. He walked to the left toward drink #1, let out another yell, and drank quickly. Once again, he walked confidently back toward Will. Not waiting for the opponent to cue him, Will started walking toward the two remaining glasses. He considered them carefully as the surrounding crowd seemed to bear down on him, awaiting a decision. The contents were identical, there was no way to tell them apart. So it was, his entire journey would come down to a blind guess of faith. Will picked up glass #4 and chugged it. The crowd sighed as he finished off the glass. The next ten to fifteen seconds seemed to drag on forever. Had he won the game? The opponent made a move toward glass #5 as the silence wore on. He looked down for a second, then turned around. "One glass left." he said.

A spectator stepped forward. "Stop, stop, this young man won! Right, quit now!" he shouted.

The opponent turned back around toward the glass. "No." he said. "I am the champion, I will not be disgraced." He picked up the glass.

Instantly, the people gathered around him rushed in. The spectator cried out to the opponent, "You're crazy. Put the glass down!" But it was to no avail, as the opponent ignored the spectator and downed the drink in a shot. There were cries in the crowd as the opponent collapsed to the ground, dead.

Day 78 -

Will was standing in the house of the opponent's now widowed wife, right in the center of Watermia. He could hardly believe the mess that he had gotten himself into within the last day. He had gone from gaining the fourth mystic statue and seeing love blossom in his own traveling party to being partly responsible for the death of a native villager. Now he had been summoned to the home of the woman who had just lost her husband in a gambling match gone horribly wrong.

"So it's you. You're the Russian glass champion. I never thought I would see somebody so young, so shabby, competing in such dangerous gambling. What you've done is truly remarkable. It's hard to believe he's gone." the woman said. "Even though he always had such pride, I am still shocked at what he did."

"So am I." Will said.

"My unborn child will never get to know his father. It's a tough thing, but I will be able to tell him the stories about how his dad stuck to principle, even when the times were at their toughest. I'll be sure to tell him about you too. Anyway, the whole reason I summoned you here was my husband's will. It has a passage that states that if he were to lose at Russian glass, the victor would possess his four kruk animals. By virtue of that, you now own these animals. They are sitting down below the house now. Please take care of them for me."

Will could not believe it. The distraught, pregnant woman was giving him just what he needed to continue the journey.

"Why are you doing this for me?" Will asked.

"Because I know that you are important to the well-being of this place, and this earth. I trust that your mission will succeed."


	25. Farewell and Reunion

**Chapter 25: Farewell and Reunion**

Will had spent the morning discussing his good fortune with the rest of his travel companions. He had four kruks. They now only needed two more in order to cross the desert. Will figured he would try to barter his red jewels, and possibly his medicinal herbs in an effort to obtain the precious animals. But he encountered difficulty in attempting to trade with the merchants and artisans spread out throughout Watermia. One coveted his travel pack and his jugs of fresh water, but eventually retracted the offer.

Morning turned into midday, and midday into afternoon. By this time, Kara had joined him in an effort to persuade people to be more forgiving to their plight. But even Kara's stunning appearance and personality couldn't get them what they wanted. It was dawning on Will that aside from maybe the shirt on his back and the shoes on his feet, he had nothing of value to trade. He wasn't about to resort to theft. Unlike other explorers, who sometimes resorted to larceny, assault, even killing, Will was a man of honor who would not stoop to such tactics. The sheer fact of the matter was that he had four kruks, and there were six people in the travel party. Four would move on, and two would have to stay behind in Watermia. Even though it was inevitable, the thought of leaving his friends behind made him sick.

He and Kara climbed up the ladder and into their living quarters, where the remaining members of the group were waiting. Neil and Erik lay on the beds in the corner of the room, while Lilly and Lance were sitting at the table, nibbling on the remaining bits of Lilly's birthday cake. Will broke the news grimly. "Well, there's no deal." There was a bit of silence as Will's words hung in the air. Erik and Neil looked down at the floor. Even Kara was despondent. Being of royalty, she was used to getting what she wanted. She had offered to reveal her identity as daughter of King Edward in order to threaten the traders and ram through a deal. Will did not allow it though, both on reasons of ethics and that such a move could send news of their location across the land and tip off the Jackal.

Neil looked up and spoke. "Well, I'm going to Euro for sure, since I know the location of the city. Will is going too, as he needs to find the remaining two ruins. It's down between you four. Kara, Lilly, Lance, and Erik, talk amongst yourselves. It's your call." Neil nodded to Will, and he concurred. They were about to excuse themselves from the room when Lance stood up. "Lilly and I will stay behind." He said.

"Wait Lance, no you don't have to do that." Erik said.

"Yes I do." Lance said. "My father is here, and he's still quite ill. I want to care for him and help him recover his strength. I want to continue on with you guys, but I also want to spend time with Lilly. Between her and my father, it's what I feel I need to do."

Lilly supported her newfound lovebird. "I think this all makes sense. When you think about it, not unlike Will, Lance's main reason for coming on the journey was to find his father. He's right here in Watermia. I think he should stay behind and help him recover his health. Logically, I should stay with him."

Will was shocked. He thought for sure that Erik, being the youngest and least courageous of the group, and Kara, who was clearly worn down from the constant adventuring, would be the ones to stay back. Not Lance, his resilient and strong best friend, and Lilly, whose courage and power were seemingly boundless. But they had made their case, and given the circumstances it all made as much sense as could be expected.

"I wish you all luck on the remainder of the journey." Lance said. "Especially you Will. I know your father is out there, you'll find him. To Erik, Neil, and you too Kara, may you stay strong and prosper. Someday soon, we'll meet again."

"May luck and happiness follow you, wherever you go." Lilly said.

It was late afternoon, and the kruks were all saddled up. After saying their final goodbyes, Will, Kara, Neil, and Erik rode out of Watermia to the east. The timing was perfect, as they were well rested, and they would be able to traverse the first stretch of desert under the cover of night, when the temperatures would not be so excessive. Neil took the lead and navigated the team through the swampy dirt, which quickly turned to a drier scrubland before too long. By the team the sun had gone down, they were in an area of dry, sandy brush, not unlike that of which they traversed through on the way to Nazca last month.

"Will, this trip has been a long time coming for me." Neil said.

"I'm sure it has. Will said. "Your parents probably miss you horribly."

"Heh, I'm sure. I've gotten so wrapped up in doing my inventions that I never really about family life, or about the distance from home at which I had perfected my craft. It was all about getting an airplane to fly, and about getting a camera to work in less than 30 minutes. Now that I'm on the doorstep of returning, it makes me think of how insensitive I've been. I didn't have to move away from Euro to do anything I've done. But, I guess the way things happened, it'll turn out fine in the end."

"We're going to have some fun." Will said. "If your parents are as rich and powerful as you say they are, they'll practically throw a party for the whole town when we arrive."

Neil frowned. Will smiled. He knew that one thing Neil did not like was excessive attention and grandeur thrown his direction. He didn't prefer to be recognized publicly. But this time, attention was going to be inevitable.

For the next two and half days, they traveled across the desert sands, traveling mostly at night. Neil continued to lead, while Will hung behind with Kara and Erik, both of whom were happy that their feet were getting a rest for this stretch of the journey. There was still a long way to go across the vast continent of Laurasia to find the remaining ruins.

Day 79 -

"Will, where do you suppose the remaining ruins are?" Kara asked. "Will I get to see them too?"

"You know Kara, I'm not sure." Will said. "I know the Tower of Babel is the end destination, but as for the stops along the way, I'm hoping that we'll find out when we get to Euro."

"You've never been to this area before on your adventures?" she asked.

Will responded, "My father and I have ventured to Babel Island several times. We've sailed the seas, and we've even seen some ancient cities along the coastline. But we're way inland away from the ocean now, and we're in a desert. Even well-rationed and traversed explorers would be foolhardy to travel to our current location, away from all food supplies and water."

"You could probably survive anywhere." Kara said.

"This area? It would be tough. You'd have to resort to drinking your own bodily fluids most likely." Will said. Surprisingly, Kara took Will's comment in stride. "Easier for you than me."

Will turned back at her, incredulous. The princess of Edward Castle had just cracked him back over bodily fluids. She had come a long way from not wanting to eat raw fish.

Day 81 –

By midnight on Day 80, they had passed the worst of the desert, and it was their first sight of vegetation in over two days. The grass began to get thicker and greener as they progressed. The darkness began to break early, very early on the morning of day 81. So early, in fact, that Will couldn't yet see the sun breaking over the horizon. Neil suddenly began to get very excited, as he suspected that the light was man-made. He was right. They continued heading east and a vast plateau was ahead, and at the base of the plateau was the source of the light. They couldn't really see it yet, but the city of Euro was sprawling out in front of them. They began to climb the hill, which wasn't especially steep. As the sun began to emerge, they reached Euro's eastern suburbs. Dirt and gravel pathways snaked through the mixture of homes, businesses, and scattered farmland. This seemed to go on for quite a while. But before too long, the buildings became more numerous, and they were so close together that they almost seemed to swarm. The road changed to that of a paved, marble cobblestone not unlike those of Freejia. Gardens and food stands lined the sides of the street, which had become quite crowded with merchants, craftsmen, and other workers headed to their places of work.

"Welcome to Euro" Neil told the others. Will and Erik's eyes wandered, as they examined the vast city.

"It's just like Freejia." Will said. "So large and well-built."

"You haven't seen anything yet." Neil assured them.

The traffic got heavier and heavier as they approached downtown Euro. In the modern world, it was called a morning rush hour. A controlled chaos in which thousands upon thousands of people clamored for position in a vast crowd to get to their places of work each day. In Euro, it was a given everyday fact of life in the city. Finally, they rounded a corner to the right, and stretched out before them was a bustling marketplace. There were food stands along the sides of the main road, then large buildings spread out just beyond them on either side. In the center of the marketplace was a giant fountain. And at the north end of the enclosed space was a mansion. The mansion was gigantic, nearly the size of Edward Castle. At the sight of the mansion, Will's mouth dropped. So did Erik's, amazing considering that Erik came from the richest family in South Cape, but even his house was nothing compared to what they now saw.

"That, up there, is my parents' home" Neil said.

Even Kara was taking notice. "What a palatial estate. These people must have even greater riches than King Edward."

"I believe we do. The Rolek Company virtually runs the city of Euro. All the businesses and transactions you see taking place right now, from the fish to the fresh fruit to the kruks we used to make the journey here, all of it is courtesy of Rolek."

Before he could continue with his sentence, somebody standing near the fountain recognized Neil. "Hey, that's the son of Mr. and Mrs. Rolek!" a girl shouted. "That's the inventor!" Within seconds, a huge crowd of spectators swarmed around them. "Send word to the estate that their son has arrived!" The rush of attention and people made Neil quite nauseous and claustrophobic, but the adulation was only starting to pour out on the young inventor.


	26. Party of the Century

**Chapter 26 – Party of the Century**

People shot off fireworks. There were dancers throughout the marketplace. It was as though a city-wide festival had started. The local authorities were finally able to separate Neil, Will, and the others from the crowd near the fountain and escorted them to the front steps of the mansion, where Neil's parents were waiting. They were both tall, and had a commanding presence. Neil's mother wore a sparkling red dress, of fairly similar design to Kara's pink dress. Of course, it was likely brand new, while Kara's was a bit worn after over two months of adventuring. Neil's father was wearing a tight black business suit, which apparently was all the rage in Euro. The lines at the clothing stands that were selling them had lines of twenty and thirty deep.

"Neil my son! Welcome home!" His mother exclaimed. The three hugged each other as more fireworks were shot off in the background. The scene was absolutely surreal. For Will, and even Kara, it was difficult to remember all the details of the experience, with all the noise and vicious crowds all around them. The celebration probably went on for the balance of the day.

"So you want me to take over the company?" Neil asked.

"We have made money, and wish to spend our remaining years enjoying life." His mother said. "Why don't you succeed us?"

"Son, the time has come. With the grandeur of the Rolek name, and your successful new inventions, the company will be unstoppable. Rolek will control virtually all commerce in Laurasia! The riches that you'll acquire will be beyond your wildest dreams."

"But I'm not really looking for ri" Neil started. His mother cut him off. "Son, will you do this for us?" she asked.

Neil didn't immediately answer him. He did not expect to be thrust into such a situation. He didn't really want to be put out into such a noticeable job, but he didn't want to disregard his parents' wishes either.

"Just let me think about it." He responded.

That night Erik, Will, and Kara were shown to the guest room of the mansion. It was very spacious and had three beds. For the first time since Freejia, they would all have beds to sleep in. Having spent weeks adrift at see on wooden rafts, and almost a month inside a rocky underground tunnel, it was a welcome change.

"Oh my, this house is so big. It's scary. What if I have to go to the bathroom and I cannot find it!" Erik shouted.

Erik's outburst nearly made Kara crack up. "Oh Erik, I'll be here to escort you."

"Hey, I can't help it if you're rich and are used to places like this." Erik responded.

Will laughed. "Remember when we all thought that your family was the richest family in the world? Amazing how times have changed."

"Well, there have to be some poorer folks here too, right?" Erik asked.

"I would think. A town without poor people is akin to an adventure without hardship. Maybe tomorrow we'll get out and explore the place a bit, if the people will leave us alone." Will said. With all the grandeur surrounding them, Will suspected that there was something sinister that the town was hiding. In both Freejia and Watermia, he had seen the dark sides of seemingly pretty towns, and those cities weren't as affluent as Euro. In Watermia, people gambled with their lives in order to get rich and famous. In Freejia, people were being sold into slavery, forced to work for the rich and affluent, a crime far more egregious. Euro was even larger and richer than Freejia, so he wondered what the town could be hiding.

Day 82 -

The next morning Will ventured out into the streets of Euro. Kara offered to come along, and seeing as her affluent dress and jewelry would probably help them blend in with the crowd, Will agreed. For once, his shabby appearance would likely draw unwanted attention. They set out to the south, and near the edge of the marketplace, they came to a building with a line so long, it stretched around two city blocks.

"What is going on here?" Will asked.

A villager responded. "This store is selling life medicine! I'm going to wait here all day if I have to!"

"Life medicine?" Will asked with skepticism. Kara's interest piqued up. "Do you suppose it works?" she asked.

"Not sure." Another villager said. "But it's probably worth it to try some anyway."

Kara was sold. "Will, I'm going to get some. We'll meet up here later."

Will wasn't surprised that Kara wanted to try the medicine. He didn't have many qualms about leaving her behind either. She was clearly in her comfort zone. So Will let her be and headed into Euro's eastern reaches. This was a largely residential neighborhood, and children were out playing in the streets. Many of the adults were talking amongst themselves, and most paid no attention to Will as he walked by. Well, except for one lady at a clothing booth that tried to persuade him into purchasing some nicer looking clothes. He laughed. "They have no idea what real life is." He thought to himself.

And then it happened. He noticed a man wearing a purple hooded tunic on a street corner about two blocks from the Euro capital building. He knew it! There were labor traders in the city. He was talking to two men wearing Rolek-issued garb. Perhaps they were discussing business. Not wanting to disturb them, he continued his walk to the north. The street turned from marble to a poorly-maintained rock before too long. At last, he had reached a more impoverished section of the town. Though, compared to the bad areas of Freejia, it was still fairly affluent. The difference was that the streets were nearly deserted. It was about ten minutes before Will caught sight of people. A minute later, he saw four more labor traders, all huddled in an alley. A group of Rolek workers were in the immediate vicinity, although they weren't conversing at that moment. Suddenly a horrifying thought crossed Will's mind. What if the Rolek workers were intimately involved in the labor trade like the merchants in Freejia? If everything in Euro was built by forced labor, hundreds, maybe even thousands of laborers could be at the traders' beck and call. Anger and frustration again began to boil over.

Luckily, Will came across a church, which was enough to make him forget about the laborers for a brief moment. A service was taking place, so Will walked in very quietly as not to disturb anybody. Religion was something that Will had a hard time reconciling. He was unsure as to the presence of a supreme being or beings, but at the same time he had a lot of faith in nature and the natural world, that the normal cycles of the earth would provide protection and good harvest. In the modern world, he would probably be somewhere between agnostic and scientology.

The service soon ended, and the church began to empty. The thick wooden pews went back about twenty rows, and at the front was an altar with a very large statue in the center along the back wall. The windows were made of beautiful stained glass. He examined the sanctuary closely and was about to leave when he found something that drew his attention. Near the statue, there was a noticeable draft that blew his shaggy hair around. Remembering his experience in the diamond mine, such a draft meant that there was probably something behind the statue. With the church now deserted, Will did the unthinkable. He gave the statue a big push, and after a few seconds, it began to move. He kept on pushing until a dusty stairwell was revealed behind. Will's heart began to pound. "Either there's treasure down here, or this is where the laborers are being kept." He thought to himself.

Seconds later, his worst fears were confirmed. There was a vast complex of prison cells and balls and chains. Tens of laborers were lined up along the walls of the dark room. They were all quiet, and did not even look up at Will when he entered the room, a sure sign that they had been trained to be submissive. Like the ones in Freejia they wore heavy, brown outfits with green ski masks over their faces. To make matters worse, there were also rotting skeletons of dead people lying about the floor, which filled the room with a terrible stench.

Will kneeled down next to one of the laborers. "What is your name? Where are you from?"

The laborer looked up. "My name is Mike. I was sent here from South Cape."

The words cut through him. "South Cape? That's where I'm from. My name is Will."

"Will? I think I remember your name. Weren't you the one who always jumped off the buildings? How did you ever make it all the way to Euro?"

"I'm on a quest to find the ruins of the world, but enough about me. How did the traders find you? Did they come to South Cape?"

"I was summoned to Edward Castle. He was looking for one of my personal possessions. When I refused to give it up, he threw me into prison, and eventually he sold me to labor traders."

A chill ran up Will's spine. It was a good thing he was able to escape the prison with Kara's help, otherwise he could have suffered the same fate. He promised the trader that he would do whatever he could to free him and the others. Before leaving, something caught Will's eye. A trader in the corner had hair poking out from under his mask. Will took his mask and pulled it off. It wasn't a man at all, it was a fair young woman! Up to this point, all the laborers Will had seen were male. The women had been spared. This meant that the trading going on in Euro was even more ruthless than that of other cities. Examining her features, Will noticed that she was quite beautiful. She definitely gave Kara a run for her money.

"What is your name?" Will asked her.

"My name is Anne." She replied. "I come from Freejia." That didn't surprise Will. He had seen plenty of pretty girls on the streets of the flower city. "Tell me Anne, how exactly did you get caught up in all this? I've never seen a woman laborer before."

Anne sighed. "It's a long story. It all seemed to happen following a beauty pageant. Last year, I was crowned Miss Freejia. It was my dream come true. But one of my jealous competitors was from a family of labor traders, and they tried to use their influence to fix the competition. When their attempt at corruption failed, she told them where I lived, and they put together an elaborate plot to kidnap me in the middle of the night. While the labor traders in Freejia hold women in high enough regard to not subject them to hard labor, the ones in Euro do not. So they sent me across the ocean to a labor camp here."

Of all the stories Will had heard on his adventure, this was the worst one yet. He noticed a teapot sitting by her left leg. "What's this?" he asked.

"It's a teapot. In old times, when the women watched their husbands go off to war, they collected their tears in teapots like these. Many of the women laborers have them. Legend has it that there is a mystical teapot that contains the tears of the spirits. If unleashed, the power of the teapot will destroy all the people behind the labor trade and the wars. It would also free all the refugees and laborers in a bout of swift justice. You can find it inside a temple at the summit of Mount Kress."

Without even thinking, Will was committed to another journey. "Where can I find Mount Kress?" he asked.

Anne motioned to Mike. Mike beckoned to Will, and he walked over to him. Mike marked the location of the mountain on the map. It wasn't incredibly far, maybe a day, day and half walk to the north. Will returned to Anne, and like Mike, promised to save her. He then left the church and quickly headed back to the potion shop where he had left Kara to stand in line. As luck would have it. Kara was just emerging from the shop with a reddish potion.

"Will, you're just in time. Here, take a sip, it tastes good." Kara said.

Will took a swig. "Not bad. Maybe it'll keep me strong for the next journey."

"Journey to where?" Kara asked.

"I'm going to bring the labor trade to its knees, once and for all." He responded.


	27. Mount Kress Temple

**Chapter 27: Mount Kress Temple**

Will left Euro for Mount Kress in the early afternoon of Day 82. Before leaving, he found three more red jewels just lying in the street. Nobody he talked to was willing to claim them, so he put them into his sack. Maybe he would give them to Anne.

The main road out of Euro to the north was well paved, and Will was making good time as he headed from the northern suburbs into more remote farmland. Out in the distance was a mountain range, but compared with the mountains surrounding the Moon Tribe Camp and the Incan Ruins, they looked like molehills. The road began to climb from the flatlands late in the day, and Will made camp in a grassy knoll at the base of the mountain range.

Day 83 –

Rising before dawn the next day, Will moved farther north. As he climbed, the temperature began to drop. The skies opened, and a drenching rain fell on Will as he The land was very green, greener than any he had seen since Angel Village. The vegetation helped to keep the terrain fairly eroded, for it wasn't as rugged as the mountains he'd encountered earlier in the voyage. Various lakes and streams ran through the foothills, providing fresh water supplies and wild fruits and vegetables. Will took the time to snack on some of them and put some into his pack before moving on.

Late in the day, Will noticed a slightly larger mountain rising to the northwest. A sign on the trail indicated that it was indeed Mount Kress. A building carved into the top of the mountain was visible from the trailhead. A few hours later, just before sunset, Will had reached the summit of Mount Kress and entered the temple. It was an unusual place to say the least. There were strange mushrooms and bundles of vines five times his size growing in all directions. In fact, the vines connected in a grid to form a second floor, well above the main floor. Will climbed some ivy on the wall to reach the second floor. He checked out the vines with his feet before standing on them. They were strong, and easily held his weight. He walked forward across the connection of vines and into another room. It wasn't long before he was ambushed by a giant spider, which spit a purple venom out at him. The venom connected near his right knee. Will worked quickly to shake the stuff off his pants. The venom ate a small hole through his pant leg and left a burning sensation. It was a good thing it hadn't connected directly with his skin.

The spider charged up for another shot, but this time Will was prepared, and jumped over the shot, and attacked with his flute. The spider took three swings before exploding in a cloud of dust. Will picked up the dark gem and continued forward. Two more spiders blocked the way. One shot venom, but again Will dodged and killed it with his flute. The other spider attempted a different strategy and shot his web at Will. It latched onto him and held him to the vine. The spider advanced. But since Will was still standing, taking care of the spider was easy. The web was quite sticky however, and it took almost a minute for Will to free himself from it and move forward.

Before too long, Will noticed that one vine leading over a large crack in the floor below was disconnected. He looked for a solution. Atop a patch giant mushrooms stood a jewel box. It was defended by two other demons. These demons both had flutes, and had hideous looking hair. They looked like the jackal. Will moved onto one of the mushrooms and noticed that with each step, the mushrooms bounced. He jumped to the next mushroom and ended up jumping about ten feet into the air, landing three mushrooms ahead of his intended landing point. The demons played their flutes, summoning balls of fire to surround them. The fire revolved around his adversaries as he closed in to attack. The demons moved forward, causing the fireballs to get dangerously close to Will. He bounced back a pair of mushrooms, and then charged up for a psycho dash attack. He waited, waited for the demon to get close enough, then wham! His dash attack was so fast that it took him straight through the fire and back out, and hit the demon with such force that it collapsed in one shot. The other demon responded by playing a different note on it's flute, causing the fireballs surrounding it to shoot out in all directions. Not prepared for this, Will fell back, and nearly fell off the mushroom as the fireballs went over his head.

Holding onto the edge, Will pulled himself back up. Before the demon could summon another batch of fireballs, he jumped and hit the demon with his flute. The demon fell back, and got some fire out there. Will squeezed between the rotating flames and finished it off with another flute shot to the head. After picking up the dark gem, he opened the jewel box and examined its contents. Inside was a flowerpot with gardening seed. Inside the temple, the light was starting to fade. The sun was going down. It dawned on Will that if he didn't find the teapot soon, he would have to retreat and try again the next day, lest he get trapped inside in pitch darkness.

Will went back to where the vine was strewn out. He poured some of the gardening seed onto the edge of the vine. Almost instantly, the plant became rigid once again, and started to grow outward toward the other vine across the gap. The two interconnected, forming a bridge over the gap. He moved forward into another room filled with giant spiders and other demons. Compared with the demons he'd seen earlier in places like the Sky Garden, Mu, and the Great Wall, these demons were pushovers. Their attacks weren't especially clever, and they didn't fight well at close range at all. Once Will moved beyond their attacks of venom and fire, killing them was fairly academic.

Before too long he came to another damaged vine. Using the same gardening seed he had picked up earlier, Will was able to restore the vine to its strong, stable state. With the light still fading, Will was nearing the point where he would have to turn around and leave. He crossed two more vines, and then entered a room with hundreds of mushrooms spread out in a flower-shaped formation. There appeared to vines hanging out in all directions around arrangement. Will bounced from mushroom to mushroom toward the center of the flower, and noticed a large jewel box in the very center. He saw no demons of any kind in the room. The setup reeked of an impending trap. Quickly he made his way to the jewel box, took a deep breath, and opened it up. Inside was a teapot not dissimilar to the one Anne had. He had found it! It gave off a shiny golden glow as he held it.

Will looked out toward where he came. Sure enough, there were demons with flutes approaching him from the entranceway. He looked around toward the other exits, and noticed that demons were coming at him from all directions. Some were already playing their flutes and summoning fireballs. There was no time to think, protecting the teapot with two hands, Will took off toward where he had entered the room. The heat of the fire all around him was obvious as he weaved through the crowd. By the time he neared the edge of the mushrooms his shirt had caught fire. Right in front of the exit vine, a wall of three demons blocked his path. Will leapt as high as he could, just barely clearing them. Behind them, two more demons had entered the room and were standing on the vine. He hadn't seen them when he took off. Will braced himself for the inevitable collision, holding the teapot as if he was protecting his own child.

He landed right on top of the demons, and they all fell hard on the vine. An audible crack was heard on impact, and the vine caught on fire from Will's shirt. Will got up immediately and scampered toward the room's exit. The vine continued to crack and gave way just behind him, dropping the two demons into the abyss below. Behind him, the fire built higher and higher, and it advanced down the vine toward him as he ran. He ripped off his shirt and threw it down with his left hand, his left arm and chest burned from the flames. He never once looked back as he sprinted clear out of the temple and out onto Mount Kress. Behind him, the temple erupted into a plume of flames and smoke.


	28. Euro Breaks Into Pieces

**Chapter 28 – Euro Breaks Into Pieces**

He had run so fast out of the temple, faster than he had even run in his life. He had been so heated by both fire and adrenaline, but now that he was safely away from the burning temple and into the cold mist and rain of the night, he was cooling off quickly. Too quickly in fact, as the water touched his burned chest and arm they stung badly. Will took a medicinal herb and applied it. The medicine helped a little bit, but without a shirt or any sort of covering for the affected area, it would continue to be tender and painful.

It was at this point that Will's attention turned back to the teapot. Was it still fully intact? He examined it as best he could in the darkness, and it appeared to be fine, all the precious liquid still contained within. It was at this point that Will heard a voice inside his head. "He who holds the teapot of legend, return to the city of Euro, ku ku ku." It was a member of the Moon Tribe. "There, something big will happen, ku. One that will affect the entire world, ku ku."

This confirmed would Anne had told him in the basement of the church. She mentioned something about sudden vengeance against the leaders of the labor trade. But what was going to happen? Who was going to be affected? He was anxious to find out.

Day 84 –

Still charged up from his escape from the temple, Will never even stopped to make camp that evening. He walked on the lonely path down through the hills, eventually reaching the flatlands again by early morning. His chest and arm still hurt, but the cooling affect of the water and damp air had helped it heal a bit. Around mid-morning he passed a farmhouse, and a local farmer noticed that he didn't even have a shirt on. He took Will into his home.

"So what are you doing out here on your own without any coats, any shirts." The man asked.

"I'm returning from Mount Kress. I had a bit of an accident there. I haven't slept in a day and a half." Will responded.

"It looks like you've got a burn mark too. Here, take these." He said as he gave Will three brand new shirts. They looked well pressed, like they had come from Euro, certainly higher quality than the one he left behind at Mount Kress. He was about to thank the man when he noticed somebody circling from behind the house. Closer inspection suddenly made Will freeze in his tracks. The man was wearing a blue cape and had green spiky hair. He had a steel, Edward Castle-issued helmet and steel weapons. It was the Jackal!

The Jackal turned and looked straight at Will through the window. They looked toward one another for about six, maybe seven seconds, but to Will it was the longest six or seven seconds of his entire life. Following this spate of time the Jackal turned away, and headed back toward the dirt pathway. Before long he was gone, heading northward toward Mount Kress. Will's head spun. Did he know who he was? He couldn't know for sure, because the man hadn't seen Will in person before, and likely wouldn't recognize him just from King Edward's descriptions. Even so, perhaps the Jackal knew him and was playing possum with Will, perhaps waiting for him to lead him to Kara. Will started to break into a cold sweat.

"Is something wrong?" The man asked.

"Yeah. Do you suppose I could nap here for a while?" Will responded.

After getting his first sleep in days, and making sure that the Jackal was out of range, Will continued southward toward Euro. Now he had two missions, to see if the teapot's power really could end the labor trade, and to get Kara and the others out of the city before the Jackal returned from the mountains. He walked quickly, even ran, down the flat dirt trail leading southward. By sunset, he was back in Euro's northernmost suburbs. Before long, he reached the church where he saw the laborers. The church was locked up, but Will easily broke down one of the side entrances. Quickly, he moved the statue again and headed down the stairs into the darkness. Sure enough, the laborers were there, and they all immediately noticed the glow of the teapot that Will was holding.

"Will, you found it!" Anne said excitedly as he put it down on the ground. He was about to undo the rigid top of the teapot when he heard another voice in his head. He stopped. "Now is not the place to bring about the tears of the spirits, ku. Go forth to the Rolek mansion, ku."

Will wasn't about to question the Moon Tribe, so he put the teapot back away. Using his flute he quickly freed several of the laborers, including Mike and Anne, and told the latter two to take off their masks and come with him to the Rolek Mansion. It was getting to be fairly late when Will reached the mansion with Anne and Mike following behind him. At the front gate, Will told the guards that he had returned from Mount Kress, and had brought the two laborers to report on progress regarding a new mining site near the mountain. They didn't think twice about letting him through the gates. Once inside the mansion, Will heard the voice again. "Proceed to the owner's quarters, ku." The owner's quarters meant the master living space of Neil's parents. Now Will was really getting nervous. He had come all this way in the name of freeing the slave workers, and now he was going to be opening the teapot in front of Neil's parents.

As fate would have it, Neil was sitting at the table with his parents, discussing business matters regarding takeover of the company.

"Will. Good, you've returned." Neil said. "But, who are these people?" he asked.

Will said nothing. He pulled out the teapot. Its glow once again shone brightly, lighting up the dimly lit room.

"Oh my, what a nice looking teapot!" Neil's mother said excitedly. "Bring that here." Will stepped forward and presented her with the teapot. As he did so, he heard another voice. "Now, watch as your will is imposed, ku."

Neil's mother and father admired the teapot for a few more seconds, and handed it back to Will. But just as Will touched it again the teapot suddenly began to glow very bright. Without warning, it exploded, sending shards of marble and the tears of the spirits all over Neil's parents. Before they could even react, their bodies began to harden and disintegrate. They screamed loudly as their decaying bodies shriveled up, and eventually fell to the floor, dead. A few seconds later, two Moon Tribe spirits rose from the rotting skeletons. One of them spoke.

"The comet of light speeds up all evolution, and the power of the spirits runs free. The previous owner of this body is now a skeleton sleeping under the church."

The spirits floated out the doorway and out of the mansion. Neil was speechless, his faced flushed. All four of them stood blankly at one another in the dark.

Day 85 –

Will was horrified by what he had done. The image of the teapot exploding and the tears of the spirits causing Neil's parents to shrivel and disintegrate haunted his dreams. Luckily the incessant noise in the streets below broke his nightmares apart. It sounded like there was lots of shouting, possibly fighting, going on throughout the city. Will wasn't certain if this amount of noise was normal, or if his opening of the teapot had something to do with it. After a spate of thinking about it, Will fell back asleep. Once again, the terrible image replayed in his mind. But in this version of the nightmare, Neil got up from his chair and attacked Will with a knife. He attempted to fight back, but his arms and legs were heavy. Neil had him cornered, and he prepared to sink the knife into his chest.

"Will!" Kara shouted. "Wake up!"

"Unnh" Will said groggily. "What's the deal?"

"You were tossing and turning so badly, that you fell clear out of the bed." It was only now that Will noticed that he was indeed, on the cold marble floor. His arm hurt. "You were having a pretty bad nightmare."

Kara helped Will back to his feet. "Is there something you need to talk about? I can't sleep anyway with all of this noise in the street."

"I…killed Neil's parents." Will said. "I'm a murderer." For the first time all journey, he was about to break down and cry. He buried his hands in his face.

"No, you're not a murderer. You fought against the organized labor trade, to free the slaves. Without you, the oppressed people of Euro and other cities wouldn't be rioting in the streets. Without you, people like Anne and Mike would have no hope for returning to their homes, to their lives, to their families. They wouldn't be free to do as they pleased, before their lives were ruthlessly uprooted. You just didn't know who you were fighting against. The stuff that Neil's parents engaged in to build up the Rolek Company and the city of Euro was downright evil. Maybe they didn't deserve to die, but they deserved a cruel punishment. I can only hope that my father gets his someday."

Will sat there for a moment, contemplating Kara's daring burst of soliloquy. She had some good points. It was at this point that Anne entered the room. "Will, without you, people like us would be doomed to a life of solitude, hardship, and death," she said. "Without you and your righteous heart, an empire of corruption, treachery, and pure evil would be allowed to continue to ruin the lives of thousands. Think about that."

Kara and Anne's words were somewhat comforting, but Will was still nervous. He wasn't sure how Neil was going to react, when and if he did. But they were enough to get him to find sleep again, without any further nightmares.

At daybreak, Will awoke to a cacophony of noise and bustle. Looking outside the windows of the mansion, there were people fighting, raiding food stands and businesses, and engaging the local authorities. Some of them were wearing laborer clothes. Virtually all sense of law and order had completely self-destructed. It was a very dangerous place.

As he nibbled on his breakfast, a few slices of bread and an apple, Will noticed Neil enter the room. This was the moment of truth. How would the embattled inventor respond? The room was deathly silent.

"I'm sorry everybody. Last night was the toughest night of my entire life. But I've thought it over, I'm the next person in line to inherit the company. Prior to yesterday, my parents came to me and asked me to become the next leader of Rolek. In lue of current events, it is certainly what they would have wanted. I only wish I would have been able to tell them just how much I loved them."

Neil stopped for a minute, his eyes were welling up badly. "Although my parents were everything to me, I'll never be able to forgive them for ruining the lives of so many. Therefore, I will honor their wishes, and at the same time, I will be staying behind in Euro in order to rebuild the Rolek Company from the ground up. Will, Kara, Erik, and even you Anne and Mike, it has been great to travel with you all and get to know you. I'll never forget you."

Everybody came over to Neil and gave him a big group hug. Kara spoke in the middle of the huddle. "We've all been through a lot, more than most normal people go through in a lifetime. But we'll always have each other. Always. Trust in your inner strengths, your beliefs, your values, and in the strengths of your companions, and you'll always be strong."

They came out of the huddle, and Will spoke. "Neil, to be fair, we aren't exactly looking to leave Euro right now. There's riots in the streets and it's simply too dangerous. Besides, we don't want to leave you alone in your time of need."

Neil waived him off. "Will, look at it this way. Lance and Lilly stayed in Watermia because their objective was to find Lance's father and to build a new life together. I'm staying in Euro because I have a responsibility to continue my family's company. And you, you must go on, because the end result of your journey is to find your father and save the world from ruin."

"Yes, but we don't even know where the next ruins are." Will said.

"Actually, yes we do." Kara said. "The temple of Angkor Wat is our next destination. From what I've heard from Anne and Mike, it lies about three days to the southeast of here, in the middle of the jungle."

Neil's face suddenly turned from pale to enlightened. "Yes, Angkor Wat, it's a grand temple unlike any you've ever seen. And you guys will find it, but you won't be going without a little friend of yours." Neil turned to Kara. "I believe his name is Hamlet."

"Hamlet?" Kara shouted.

"Come on in!" Neil said. He opened the door and the mansion's butler brought in the pig. He looked newly cleaned and everything.

"Hamlet! Oh Hamlet!" Kara screamed as she cradled him into her arms. "Oh my goodness, how in the world did you get here?"

"Lilly found him in Watermia and sent him to Euro through Rolek's delivery service. Looks like he followed you all the way here." Neil said.

Kara's eyes were beaming. A smile crossed Neil's face. It was in a way, his first official piece of business as Rolek's president. In Will's eyes, he was already a star.


	29. The Natives Village

**Chapter 29 – The Natives' Village**

The violence and rioting continued throughout the day. The former laborers and slaves who had been saddled with the impossible task of building the infrastructure of a political and economic empire in brutal conditions against their will proclaimed their victory. Many of the labor traders, felled by unknown ailments that sapped their strength, were unable to stop their vengeance. Euro's authorities and security personnel did their best, but they were fighting a battle that they simply could not win. The mobs of laborers were simply too great, and the pent-up frustration and anger that had built up inside those men and women for years poured out. By the afternoon, many of the marble streets were running red with blood. Watching it unfold from inside the mansion, Will could not condone the senseless violence that was taking place, but at the same time, the fact that it was happening did not surprise him in the least.

On a more practical level, the violence was such that it prevented their safe passage out of the city toward the ruins of Angkor Wat. To make matters worse, along with the Euro capital building, the Rolek Mansion was right at the epicenter of the laborers' uprising. Will, Kara, and Erik held a conference that afternoon.

"What are we going to do? There's just no way out of here." Kara said.

"We could force our way through the crowds. That's what we did on the way into the city." Will suggested.

"I'm not going out there!" Erik shouted. "Those people are crazy! It's a war out there, who knows what could happen to us!"

"Erik, if you continued to be scared for the rest of your life, you'll never get anywhere." Will said.

"And if you would actually stop to think about the ramifications of your actions before making such rash decisions…" Erik said tersely.

"Enough!" Kara shouted. "You two have been at each other's throats for the better part of the day. Will, Erik's right, we can't just go out there into that mess. Even if you are their liberator, who knows what could happen if the wrong people get close to you."

Will slunk down into his chair. How could he make them understand that leaving immediately was paramount to their mission? Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. Of course! He was so caught up in Neil's parents dying and the resulting laborer revolt that he had forgotten totally about his encounter with the Jackal. A maniacal grin crossed his face.

"We have to leave because the Jackal is near."

"What?" Kara shouted.

"I saw him, he was stooping around somebody's house somewhere between Euro and Mount Kress a few days ago."

"That can't be!" He's followed us all the way here?" Kara shouted in disbelief.

Will was about to speak again, but Anne rose from her chair and cut Kara off. "I don't know if this is important, but I feel I tell you that I was questioned by a weird looking man about a week ago. I was hauling large boulders, and he stopped me. He asked me if I had seen a woman named Kara."

Will turned his full attention to Anne. "What did he look like?"

"He was wearing a blue cape and a silver helmet. He looked like he had some mean attacking weapons and I remember his hair, it was…weird. It waved in all directions."

"That's him all right." Will said.

Kara's face was flushed. "Anne, is there any way that you and Mike could lead us out of the city safely?"

Mike stood up. "Neil could help us get past the guards in the marketplace. From there, we will do our best to ward off unruly laborers and other persons. It's not something that I can guarantee though, at least not until nightfall."

"Oh no way, not in the dark!" Erik shouted.

"There would be less people in the streets then. It's our best chance." Mike told Will.

Will considered it for a while. Then he made a decision. I hereby submit that we leave for Angkor Wat under the cover of night." He turned to Mike. "With you assistance, we should be able to reach our next goal."

"Will, we're coming with you." Anne said.

Will stopped, and turned back around to Anne. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"We're not staying in this awful place. We don't belong here. We should return to our homes, to create a new life for ourselves. Will, you're a godsend to us, all of us." She became teary-eyed and suddenly ran toward Will and hugged him. "Without you, who knows what would have become of us and so many others. I promise you that if you let us come with you, we'll make it worth your while. Please, I beg you." Anne broke down into tears as she buried her head into Will's chest.

Kara and Erik moved toward Will and they all group-hugged. "Will, she's right." Erik said. "I mean, Mike's from South Cape. Eventually, we all have to return home anyway, don't we? We can't adventure forever."

"We…can't…adventure…forever."

Erik's words rung true. For once, he was right. They couldn't simply travel from place to place, running from the Jackal, hunting down mystic statues for the rest of their lives. There had to be more purpose than that. For Will, his purpose was to find his father and save the world from ruin. But after he accomplished that, what would he do? For the first time since he dreamed about his mother aboard the Incan Gold Ship, he was reminiscing about his old life in South Cape. No doubt Mike and Anne had done that every day of their forced captivity.

"Anne. Mike." Will said. "Welcome to the group."

Day 86 –

They got some more valuable rest, and then left Euro under the cover of night. The western suburbs of Euro had narrow streets and were rather cramped. They ran into many former laborers, plenty of whom Anne and Mike knew intimately. When they explained their situation, many of the laborers joined the pack, vowing to help Will and his friends clear the city safely. Several hours after the journey began, they were back in farmland. Will had never been as happy to see wilderness as he did that night.

For two more days they traveled the dirt trail to the southwest. As they continued to the south, they ran into some driving rainstorms, and the grasslands gave way to a swampy, insect infested marsh. By this point in the adventure, bugs bothered them very little. Even Kara was stoic despite displaying many visible bites on her arms and neck. Making camp on Day 87 was especially difficult since there wasn't any higher ground to be found, and the swampy land was practically covered with puddles and standing water. The rains continued, bringing the threat of flood. After a few hours of trying to find a suitable location, Will decided that they would continue traveling through the night. For yet another day, they would go without sleep.

Day 88 –

The marshlands turned into a thick jungle, and the road disappeared. It became difficult to orient themselves in the darkness. By morning, it became difficult to even see the sun rise because of how thick the canopy of trees had become. The temperature and the humidity were downright oppressive. Will didn't know just how far away from Angkor Wat they were, or really if they were on the right track. The map wasn't of much assistance in the thick jungle. Luckily, food and water supplies were plentiful, so they wouldn't have to worry about going hungry. Even Hamlet appeared to be in good spirits given the oppressive conditions. He was covered in mud.

At last, sometime in the early afternoon, the five adventurers plus the one pig came across a clearing in the wilderness. Perched on a plateau were a group of four wooden huts. Inside one of the buildings were three stone statues of young women, the rest were bare except for a worn out rug in the center. It was an eerie place, with a smattering of human skeletons littering the ground.

"Looks like an abandoned campsite." Will said.

"It's as hot as the tropics." Kara said, as she investigated the inside of one of the huts.

"Looks abandoned." Mike said as he tiptoed around several skeletons.

"I'm tired." Erik said. We've been traveling for two days straight. I say we rest here."

"Will, what do you say?" Kara asked.

Will nodded his assent. He wasn't exactly sure where to find the temple, or if they were even on the right path anymore. His nerves were shot. He couldn't think; the heat and humidity coupled with his fatigue made it impossible. Maybe after a nap he would be able to re-focus.

"Uhhn…Hamlet, stop it. Let me sleep a while longer."

AAAH! Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Smack! Smack! Smack…Smack…Smack…Smack!

It all happened so fast. One second Kara was in a dreamlike state, the next she was being accosted by people dressed only in cloth underwear. She was gagged, beaten, and eventually tied up to a wooden stake near the center of the campsite. Will, Erik, Anne, and Mike had all suffered a similar fate. For the past twenty minutes or so, they had watched as the pack of brown-skinned people built up a giant fire atop a bed of coals. To Kara, the people looked like savages, like those you saw in history books fighting wooly mammoths. They paced back and forth and several circled the blaze. Some made noises, while others stared blankly at their captives. If she didn't know any better, she swore that she was going to be eaten by cannibals.

"Look at how hungry they are." Erik said.

"Yes. Look at how thin they are. The skeletons make sense now. They must have been the bodies of those who starved to death." Will said. "They probably haven't eaten in days."

"Oh no. We're going to be next!" Erik said. "I can't die like this!"

Hamlet, strangely, the one member of the party that was not tied up, walked slowly toward Kara, still hog-tied to the wooden stake. It raised its snout and looked up at his master. "Hamlet, why the long face?" Kara asked. "It's as if we're about to be separated."

Hamlet looked down, then raised its snout again and took another long look at Kara. Then he quickly turned around and ran straight into the fire.

"Hamlet!" Kara shouted at the top of her lungs.

"What in the world?" Will said incredulously.

The brown-skinned people all immediately flocked to the fire where Hamlet now burned. Within a few seconds, the pig's legs gave out, and collapsed onto the hot coals.

"Hamlet!" Kara shouted again.

"Poor Hamlet." Erik said.

The natives continued to surround the fire where Hamlet burned. Suddenly, a white apparition appeared from out of the fire. The natives were awestruck, and immediately ran backward. Will immediately recognized the ghost, it was his mother Shira.

"Listen everybody." Shira said. "It was Hamlet's wish to become food for all of the hungry here. One pig could save many villagers. It was also his wish to keep hope alive for the world. Will, the comet of destruction is approaching the Earth. So find the mystic statues and go to the Tower of Babel."

When she finished her sentence, Shira raised her hands, and the ropes the bound Will and the others vanished. Then Shira floated upward, and disappeared into the afternoon sky.

Will hardly had time to take in his mother's comments before he was swamped by Erik, Anne, and Mike.

"Are you…a deity of some kind?" Anne asked him. "You summoned that ghost to save us."

"I did not!" Will said loudly, taken aback by Anne's comment. "Or, I mean, I don't know why that happened."

"Who was that?" Mike asked.

"It was my mother, Shira." Will said. "They say she passed away in an accident several years ago while my father and I were out adventuring."

"What did she mean by the comet of destruction?" Erik asked.

Will didn't know how to answer that. "It's…a long story. Suffice it to say, it's not good." Will wanted to continue but he noticed that several of the natives were lining up to talk to him. He turned away from Erik and acknowledged the native. The man began to speak, but he spoke in a tongue that Will did not understand. It sounded eerily similar to the language that Imus, Remus, and Sam had used while talking with one another in Freejia and the Diamond Mine. But unable to make heads or tails of the language, Will motioned to the man and held out his hand. The man looked into Will's eyes for a brief moment, then gave him his hand. Even though they did not understand each other's language, they had an accord.

The next villager held out some food for Will and the others to taste. It looked like a brown-colored porridge of some kind, but Will tried some anyway. It tasted like mashed up chicken and dumplings with a decidedly bitter aftertaste. Anne and Mike both commented that it was the best food they had tasted in months, which gave Will an idea of just how barbaric their living conditions in Euro had been.

Another villager tugged on Will's sleeve and pointed toward a skeleton on the far edge of the village. Will followed the man, and upon reaching the skeleton, his eyes began to well up. It was clear that the remains were of a person of great significance to the villager. After shaking the hands of several other villagers, a thought crossed Will's mind. They had come into the jungle to find Angkor Wat. Seeing as they had lost their way and were unsure as to the Temple's whereabouts, maybe the villagers could be of help.

Will turned back to Kara, the resident artist of the group. She was still teary-eyed over Hamlet's voluntary demise into the flames. Will picked up a branch and gave it to her. "Do you suppose you could draw a picture of the temple in the pit of soot?" he asked. He took out his map and showed it to the villagers.

Kara didn't say a word, but beckoned to many of the villagers, including those tending over Hamlet's now roasting aroma. She began to create lines in the soot, and before long, she had drawn an impressive looking building in the gray matter. To finish it off, she drew a crescent moon high above and palm trees surrounding it. For such an unusual canvas, it was quaint.

The natives initially did not know what to make of Kara's work of art. Then suddenly, one of the young children in the group stepped forward. Using a stone tool, he scraped his right index finger enough that it began to bleed. Taking Will's map, he marked in blood a location that appeared to be out in the middle of the vast jungle off to the north of the village. Will examined the map. It didn't look all that far from the village, probably less than a day away. Before he could even thank the young villager though, he tugged on Will's shirt. Will followed him back into the hut where the three statues of the young women were. The boy pointed to the statues, then pointed back to the drop of blood he had marked on Will's mark. Then he, like the boy at the statue, began to cry. It was as if he was trying to tell him that there was some connection between the temple and the three statues. But what could it be?


	30. Angkor Wat

**Chapter 30: ** **Angkor Wat**

Day 89 –

The sun began to set to Will's left. He had been traveling over very swampy and wet land for the past ten to twelve hours. It was perhaps better suited at times to boat travel, as opposed to walking on foot. Many times, he had to swim across deep ravines of water between the drier areas. All this traveling, and still no sign of the temple. Will was frustrated. Maybe the young villager did not actually know the location of Angkor, but had simply guessed. Perhaps he had lost his way again. Or perhaps the young man intentionally led him off the track.

About fifteen minutes later, Will came to a steep hill. It was the first climb of any kind that he had encountered all day, and it was fairly arduous. Upon summiting the climb, the trees broke, and spread out in front of Will was a structure unlike any he had ever seen.

It was far bigger than Edward Castle. It made Rolek Mansion look like a one door shack. The temple seemed to stretch on for miles to the north. It wasn't just one building either, it was a collection of buildings within one system of walls. The buildings were made primarily of stone, though some steel girding and plating was also utilized, which was something that Will had not yet seen on his adventure. The grassy knoll upon which he stood right now spread out in all directions around the temple and served to provide protection from invasion. Further, a deep moat surrounded the outside of the complex, which was only accessible by a stone bridge in the front. Clearly, this civilization was much more advanced than that of the Inca, or even the Chinese.

Will was wary upon entering Angkor Wat. His last two encounters at ruins hadn't been for the faint of heart. He had taken a physical beating at the Great Wall, and in some ways, still wasn't over his near brush with disaster at the Sky Garden. Luckily, it looked like he would be able to keep his feet on the brown earth here.

Upon entering Angkor Wat, he was greeted by a shiny room plated with gold, and the ceilings and floors were made of granite. The sun reflected off the gold plating, and showered the room with a shiny glow. Almost immediately he noticed a jewel box on a ledge. Inside was a red jewel. A few minutes later, he saw another jewel box, and again, a red jewel was inside. His jewel count seemed to rise with every other room that he explored. He could not help but think that eventually, one of the treasure chests was going to be booby trapped.

Before too long, Will came up to a wall with a very small passageway underneath it. He ran and charged for a Psycho Slide. After sailing under the ledge, Will noticed several soldiers up ahead. They wore grey armor and wore thick helmets, not all that dissimilar to those of Edward Castle. He was hoping to get around them undetected, but it was to no avail as they stood at the top of a staircase leading back outside. The soldiers engaged Will with their bare hands, as they had no weapons. Will thought that was strange, and he easily defeated them with his flute. He moved forward, and before long he was back outside in a vast garden. The garden was a wild collection of shrubs, ivy, grass, moss, and other vegetation. The shrubs were high and thick enough that they were difficult to traverse through. Will decided to go around them, and soon realized that he was lost in a maze of green. It took a while, but eventually he made it around to the entrance of the next building. As he stepped onto the first stair leading up into the building, Will noticed something on the ground to his right. It was another skeleton.

On the skeleton there was a note of some kind. It read, "We have traveled three days through the jungle, and during the nights many of the villagers died of starvation. By morning, only Captain Frazier and I remained. That's when we decided to flee and found Angkor Wat. It is a place of riches, but it is also dangerous, for demons roam the grounds here in droves. We were out of food and water, but Frazier wanted to push on. That's when the demons got him. I'm going back to the village. If I don't find food, what will I do?"

The message sent a chill up Will's spine. He hadn't really seen any demons in the area. If there were demons roaming around, where were they hiding? Suddenly, Will felt something hit him in the back. He fell to the ground right over the skeleton. In a spate of sweat and adrenaline, Will immediately pushed himself up and drew his flute. But nobody was there. He looked around, and indeed, the garden was deserted.

On the verge of freaking out, Will ran out from the garden into the next building. Almost immediately he was greeted by three more soldiers. Will quickly defeated one with his sword, and the other two changed tactics and swung their arms around in a circular pattern. Will backed off and narrowly avoided a blow from one of them. He then re-engaged with his flute, taking out another. Now isolated, it was easy to defeat the last. Moving onward, he slid under another low-hanging ledge and defeated two more soldiers. Before too long he was out of the second building and back into another outdoor area of the temple. In this area, there was a stone road leading forward toward another building, which appeared to be much bigger and taller than the previous two. The sun was setting, and before too long it would be nighttime.

About halfway up the stone road, Will encountered a strange looking demon, one that looked like an amorphous blob with legs. It had a long neck, and stretched its head out toward Will using the neck like a hose. It was in effect, using its head as a boomerang-like projectile. The attack took Will by surprise, but luckily the demon's aim was not true, and missed to the right. Will immediately retaliated with his flute, and battered the demon in the chest. But his attack did not seem to accomplish much, as the demon came right back at him. This went on for several cycles before Will changed tactics and went after its legs. He succeeded in knocking the demon down but it got right back up and attacked again. Now Will was frustrated. He had yet to see a demon capable of taking this much punishment and still fighting hard. Worse yet, two other amorphous blob demons were approaching from up the road. He had to find the weak point soon, or he would have to run for it.

The demon came after him again with his head, and Will attempted to hit it. The attack was quick, and Will's swing missed. Luckily the demon missed as well. It tried again, and this time Will smacked it right between the eyes. The demon was dazed. Will charged up for another swing, and this time he knocked the head right off, severing the demon at the neck. Surprisingly, this did not kill the demon, for the body then charged Will and gave him a nasty shoulder block, knocking him to the ground. Shocked by the attack, Will got up quickly and hit the body with his flute. It then attempted to charge again, but Will was ready and nailed it with a fierce swing. The body finally self-destructed into a cloud of dust. "That was a lot for one dark gem." Will thought.

Now armed with the knowledge of how to defeat the demons, Will did better when confronted with the other two demons. Before too long he had their dark gems in hand and advanced toward a small garden ahead of the entrance to Angkor Wat's main building. Suddenly, he felt another blow to his back, which knocked him to the ground. Will got up and expected to see another demon behind him, but again, none was visible. This time he decided to simply ignore the surprise blow and move forward. Then it happened again, as he reached the center of the grassy patch. Angered by the thought of invisible demons coming after him, he decided to get even and set a trap. Will got up and started moving toward the main building again. After a few seconds he turned back around. Already airborne heading straight toward him was a shrub. Unable to react in time, the shrub tackled him. He threw it off and started picking apart it's branches with his bare hands, revealing a set of beady eyes and a distinguished head in the middle of the vegetation. "What a dirty little trick." Will said as he pounded the head with his flute as the demon tried to get away. It exploded, leaving a dark gem.

Wary of other shrub-like demons, Will moved gingerly toward another skeleton that was lying on the ground. As with the last demon, there was a note tucked between the bones. He picked it up and walked up the stairs toward the main building before reading it. The note read, "Captain Frazier, commanding officer's journal. We're searching for the treasure at Angkor Wat. The area is dangerous. But we have reached the main hall. But the second level of the main hall is impassable. There is blinding light throughout the room. If only I had the black crystal glasses, but I dropped them somewhere. I have to find them…"

The main hall was downright majestic. The marble and granite structure seemed to spread out in all directions, and there were plenty of jewel boxes. By this time however, Will was less concerned with treasure and more concerned with the proliferation of demons. There were hardly any in the early going, now they were everywhere! More soldiers, amorphous demons, and even strange purple head-shaped demons clogged the rooms. The purple ones were odd in that they seemed to stick to the walls, but they were a nuisance when having to engage the stronger soldiers and amorphous blobs. To make matters stickier, the sun was now below the horizon. Before too long it would be dark. Fighting hard, Will was able to cross the room and reached a staircase leading to the second floor. Upon entering the room, Will noticed several floating crystals that seemed to hang from the ceiling. Without warning, they gave off an extremely bright light, bright enough that Will was virtually blinded. He could not see.

With a barrier of brightness ahead of him, Will went back downstairs and retraced his steps. At a fork in the hallway he went to the left, away from where he entered the main hall. After defeating several more demons, he exited the main hall back outside. Immediately, he noticed a dark space leading to Gaia. Then just before he was about to enter the space, he heard something crackle beneath his feet. Will looked down and saw a black pair of glasses. It was the black crystal glasses that the note from Captain Frazier mentioned! Will examined the glasses, and the left lens was a bit bent out of shape, but they were otherwise in good condition. He then entered the dark space.

"It looks like you are weary. Close your eyes." Gaia said as she healed Will. "Will, you should see the spirit at the top of Angkor Wat. It will have some valuable information for you. Go forth, for the comet approaches."

A spirit? Will did not did not know what Gaia was referring to, but he was even more troubled about her last sentence regarding the comet. Along with Moon Tribe in Euro, and Shira's ghost in the Natives' Village, this was the third time Will had heard about the comet's emergence. Just how near was it? He couldn't be sure. At any rate, he had to complete his mission! He re-entered the chamber on the second floor, and again the vicious light blinded him. He put on the crystal glasses, and the light was instantly blunted. The glasses had succeeded in cutting out the excessive light. Faced with yet another low-hanging hole in the wall, Will used the Psycho Slider to get underneath, then defeated several purple demons on the other side. The stairway to the third floor was just around the corner, and once Will reached the third floor, he moved very quickly. Any demons were basically ignored as he navigated the remaining hallways and passageways leading upward. Before long he was on the fourth floor, and soon after, he had reached the top level of the temple. Expecting a battle of some kind, Will was disheartened when once again, he did not hear from the Dark Knight, Freedan. But unlike in the Great Wall where he was forced to fight on his lonesome against the sand fanger, there was no need for any hostilities, for the room was totally abandoned, except for one solitary figure on a central pedestal. The figure was white, and did not appear to have any arms or legs. It was about the size of a moon tribe member, but it did not have a face. Will moved gingerly toward the white.

"Are you the spirit of Angkor Wat?" Will asked.

"Will, I have been waiting for you to come for thousands of years."

"What? Who are you?" Will asked.

"I am dreaming. Time has passed since the dream began, and my body became what you see. I am going to show you a strange image. Close your eyes."

Will closed his eyes, and a dream-like image was displayed. It was very gray, with some blue on the edges, and some specks of red and green amid the gray. The gray seemed to be split up into rectangular and square-shaped blocks. Upon closer inspection, small specks of yellow, black, red, blue, and white could be seen between the blocks of gray. Then the image began to fade out, and disappeared. Will opened his eyes.

"Huh? What was that?" Will asked, bewildered.

"That is the new world." The spirit told him.

"That world is all gray. This world has blue water, green mountains, brown earth all over." Will said.

"You will usher in that world." The spirit replied.

"Me? Such a strange world?" Will said loudly in disbelief.

"Yes. Tall trees will be replaced by buildings, rivers replaced by roads. The changes are being accelerated thanks to the presence of a comet, dropping its light of ruinous evolution onto the earth. That is what happened to me. The light shone on me, and rapid evolution changed me into what you see now. The light has affected many already, and it is only getting worse as the comet nears. It has resulted in deaths, and people turning to stone."

"I have seen this myself." Will said calmly.

"My last request, before I pass to the other side, is for you to go to the village and restore those turned to stone to their original condition. Release those who have turned to gray back to their normal state. Please, I beg of you."

Will shook his head in agreement. There was a bright flash of light in the room, and the spirit disappeared. The room then returned to its original state, which seemed dark due to the time of day. "The Gorgon Flower has the power to turn those changed to stone back into their original forms. Please take it. The fifth mystic statue is also entrusted to you." The spirit's voice echoed.

When what little natural light there was returned, Will noticed a blue mystic statue on the ground in front of him. He also noticed the Gorgon Flower tucked into his right hand.


	31. From Jungle to Desert

**Chapter 31: From Jungle to Desert**

Day 90 –

The temperature and humidity were once again oppressive. Will was sweating like a pig. Making matters worse was the fact that his pack was considerably heavier than when he departed the Natives' Village the previous morning. That was the downside of treasure and riches, it always weighed you down. One treasure of great importance, the 5th mystic statue, was now in his possession, leaving only one remaining. But time was starting to run short. Just how short, Will was uncertain, but he had a feeling that the sooner they located the last ruins and the final mystic statue, the better.

At just before sunset, he arrived back in the Natives' Village, having traversed the dastardly jungle yet again. Kara was the first to meet him upon arrival. "So did you find the mystic statue?" she asked. Will showed her the blue statue and Kara was overjoyed. The others in the group took notice as well. They were close to their goal. "Follow me into the statue room, Will said to the group. Kara and Erik signaled to several of the villagers, and they followed behind. Will was not exactly sure how the Gorgon Flower worked, but he had a hunch that it had to do with the petals, of which there were three, the exact number of statues in the room. He picked a petal of the flower and put it into the statue's mouth. Within a few seconds, the gray began to change into all different colors, her skin started turning a peach color, her dress turned blue, and her hair changed to brown. It was working! Will did the same with the other two girls, and before too long they started to change color as well. Eventually their colors and complexion returned to normal. Then one attempted to speak, but appeared to have trouble opening her mouth. Immediately several villagers moved in and put their hands on the girls. Understandably, their muscles were frozen, and had to be moved around a bit. Within a few minutes, they began to recover their consciousness.

"I'm telling you, he's a deity." Anne told Mike.

"You know, I thought you were crazy, but maybe you're right." Mike said.

"Hey, I'm not a deity." Will said defensively. "The spirit at Angkor Wat gave me that flower."

Before anything more could be said, the three young women kneeled at Will's feet, then rose and held out their hands. Will shook hands with the first two, and then looked to do the same with the third. She stopped him for a moment, but then reached into a bag. She pulled out three red jewels and put them around Will's neck. She then kissed him on the cheek.

Will blushed, and Kara and Erik laughed. So did Anne and Mike.

The rest of the evening was a blur to Will. He remembered talking with Kara and Erik about the speech of the natives. Apparently "ramapoe" meant "hello" in their language. A few hours after sunset, a really bad thunderstorm broke over the village, and the rain came into the hut sideways for a while. As it was, they didn't have much to sleep on anyway but the floor, so it's not like a little water changed anything. The rain seemed to come on and off, and once the thunder departed, it made a soothing sound against the roof. It helped Will calm down and finally get to sleep.

Day 91 –

It was in the wee hours of the morning, possibly an hour or so before sunrise. Kara was immersed in a dream about floating high in the sky. It was as though she could fly. Stretched out below her was a vast tower, and it lay on a small island. There were demons of all shapes and sizes on the ground below her. Suddenly she began to flop around in the wind and lost altitude. Before too long she would be back on the ground. The demons looked up at her. It was then that she saw it, a comet, streaking across the sky. As it neared, it poured out its light onto her and the demons on the ground beneath her. The light blinded her.

"Soasi! Soasi Prechalka!" A sudden scream came from outside. Kara snapped out of her dream and listened in to sounds of the villagers screaming. There were crackling sounds all around, and it sounded as though there was fighting going on outside. That's when she heard another sound coming from the hut across from them. "Help! They've got me!" It was Anne's voice.

Kara immediately nudged Will, and took his flute, which was lying on the ground. She sped out the door and noticed a band of purple-clad fighters cracking their whips and fighting against the natives. One of them had Anne strangled around the neck and was attempting to kidnap her. Bristling with anger, Kara moved forward and ducked past two other fighters, then sprinted out toward her adversary. With a vicious swing, she smacked him with Will's flute right in the back of the leg. She swung again and this time connected with his face, sending him to the ground. By this time, Mike had run out of his hut and reached them, punching out another purple fighter in the process. He undid the ropes around Anne's neck and legs. All around them the natives fought on against the remaining invaders. Out of the corner of her eye, Anne saw Will emerge from his hut to help two villagers that been tied up.

Suddenly, three more purple-clad men appeared from the trees. Kara turned her attention and held out her flute menacingly toward them.

One of the men laughed hysterically. "Ha, ha, ha." So we have a practical joke, do we? The young girl clad in pink thinks that she can defend herself." The man, presumably the leader of the rambunctious group, approached Kara with a devious smile on his face. "I like a nice young woman doing my dirty work." He said.

"You're going to be disappointed when I defeat you." Kara said with confidence.

"You don't know who you're dealing with." The man said. "We're on orders to clear out this entire forsaken village of savages and sell them off. Funny it is that you are the one standing in our way, we've heard all about you from our associates in Euro. Told us that you and your friends released some vicious disease upon them just like you did us. We barely survived! And these two," he said as he pointed to Mike and Anne, "helped you do it. They belong to us."

"So you're labor traders then." Kara said. "You're all scum. Go home while you still can."

"Young lady, you'll do well cleaning my carpets at my mansion in Dao. Won't she comrades?" The two other men nodded and gave their assurance. "And then I'll really get to see what you're hiding behind that dress of yours."

"That's quite enough." A voice said from behind the man. Will stood there with his arms crossed, his face serious yet calm. "Just give it up; your whole organization has been torn apart. All across the world, your men have been stricken with sickness and death, just like those that you have subjugated for years."

The man turned his attention away from Kara and toward Will. "Our organization may be officially dissolved, but we're capable of anything. Just like I'm capable of taking your life."

"That's pretty big talk for somebody that cannot even defeat my fair lady." Will said in reference to Kara. Will's words shocked Kara, after being belittled for her attitude and daintiness most of the adventure, Will was now showing supreme confidence in her ability to defend herself. The man's anger boiled and he took one step toward Will, stopped, then rushed after Kara with his whip. Kara ducked the shot, and smacked him with Will's flute in the chest, just as she had seen him do so many times. He hunched over. His two helpers charged after Will, but Will was able to fend them off. Anne and Mike came over to help Will. The leader went after Kara again and attempted to tackle her, but Kara sidestepped and tripped him. She smacked the flute on the back of his head as he was getting up. The man responded by grabbing Kara's dress, then her hair, and dragged her to the ground. He then took out a rope and attempted to choke her. Will rushed toward her but couldn't get to her in time. He was furious at the man's tactics. "You dastardly coward!" Will shouted.

"Come any closer and I snap her neck." The man yelled to Will.

The other villagers and traders looked on as the standoff deepened. "You know that she's a princess?" Will asked. "King Edward will have your heads! All of you!"

"Heh. He won't be able to find us. After all, with your supernatural powers and her everlasting riches, we'll be unstoppable. You, you may have brought us down, but you'll help make us stronger than ever!"

Crack!

Out of nowhere a marble pot cracked on the back of the man's head. He fell right to the ground, and did not move a muscle. Another figure emerged from the darkness behind the labor leader.

"That's what I say to that!" Erik shouted.

With their leader defeated, the remaining traders panicked. "Abort! Northwest, back to Dao!" one yelled, and immediately they fled back into the jungle where they had come from.

Will immediately ran over to Kara, as did Anne and Mike. "Are you okay?" Will asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Kara said. "Though, my throat feels a bit sore."

Will turned away from Kara and back to Erik. "Erik! You saved the day! Without you, Kara would have been…"

"Heh, you always told me to get over my fears." Erik said sheepishly.

"It took you three months, but you're an adventurer in my book. Let's get after those malfeasants! They might lead us to our final ruins." Will shouted.

Day 92 –

They were searching for the town that the traders had mentioned, the village of Dao. Traveling through thick jungle initially, the landscape turned into more of a dry forest the next day, then a dry savannah. The road widened and was well paved with gravel. It was a clear sign to Will and the others that they were on the right path. But the road was long and winding. The temperatures were still very high, and by the late afternoon on day 93, they had reached a dry, dust-filled desert. Their water supplies began to run low. But it was strange, it seemed that the farther out into the desolate area they moved, the heavier the traffic on the trail became. It was filled with craftsman, merchants, and yes, the occasional rogue labor trader. Some of them had kruks, others did not. By the night of day 93, Will was wishing that they still had possession of their kruks, even though it would have been very difficult to get them across the jungles near Angkor Wat. But now, they were resigned to their fate. Either they would reach their destination within the next day, or thirst would eat away at them. 


	32. Desert Village Dao

**Chapter 32: Desert Village Dao**

Day 94 –

Water, and now food, was starting to run scarce. The road seemed to drag, and drag, further into the sand and dust, with no end in sight. Erik and Kara couldn't help but think that they were following a mirage of some kind. Their energy continued to dwindle, hampered by a poor night's sleep the night before thanks to a brutal sandstorm that blew throughout the night. They climbed some sandy hills early that morning, and the road continued to climb for about half an hour. It was enough to send their already reeling bodies into an even more weakened state. Erik was dying, and began to complain about his shoes sinking into the deep sand.

Then, at the top of a hill, they saw a sign. Mike got there first and read it off. "Desert village Dao, 2 miles." They did not see anything even remotely resembling a city yet, just more and more sand. But after navigating through a steep valley and climbing up the other side, they saw it, a beautiful speck of green within the sandy hell that was the desert. About fifteen minutes later, somewhere in the mid-morning, they entered the village.

It did not take them long to spot a familiar face. Inside the second house on the left side of the sandstone street was none other than Neil.

Neil was shocked to see Will. "Will, I am surprised to see you here. What brings you to Dao?"

"I was wondering the same thing, what are you doing here?" Will asked.

"I was discussing trade matters with Rolek's chief associates. My goal was to replace the labor trade with pepper imports. This led me all the way to Dao. This town has long been a marketplace for the global labor trade."

"We chased a bunch of traders here from the Natives' Village, in the jungle far to the south." Will said. "We were hoping that they would lead us to the final mystic statue."

"What happened in the jungle?" Neil asked.

Anne stepped forward. "A disbanded troop of traders attacked. They were out to kidnap the natives, but when they noticed that I was an escaped laborer from Euro, they attempted to kidnap me too. That's when Kara rushed to my aid. She rescued me, and engaged their leader."

Neil was stunned. "Kara, you fought their leader?"

"Yes, and I was winning too, until he decided not to fight fair. He pulled my hair." Kara said.

"In the end, Erik ended up saving the day." Mike said. "He smashed a pot over the leader's head." Erik blushed. Neil did a double take. "Wait, you're pulling my leg."

Will looked Neil straight in the eye. "We wouldn't say it if it weren't true. Now we're here, on the search for the next ruins. Have you heard anything about where it is, or what it is?"

"A few days ago, I heard some merchants talking about a large pyramid. I don't know where it is, but if you talk with some people in town they might be able to direct you."

It was settled. The five of them set out across the windswept streets of Dao. The sand kicked up all over the place and got into their eyes. Some of the villagers were wearing masks over their mouths. Really it was quite amazing that the town even existed at all given the conditions. After about ten minutes of walking, they reached the central square, which appeared to be built around an oasis, for there were palm trees and several lakes surrounding the marketplace. The buildings were all constructed of sandstone, and like Euro, there were many stands in the road. They purchased some food items, then sat down on the grass and picnicked next to one of the lakes. Before long, several merchants came up to them, attempting to see them masks, glasses, and other wares.

"Here, it looks like you're having some trouble with the sand. These will help." One of the men said.

"Sure, but before we take these, could you tell us what you know about pyramids?" Will asked.

"Oh yes. There's a huge pyramid off the northwest of here, with several smaller ones around it. The ancient Egyptians were responsible for their construction. I don't know exactly where they are located, but some of the merchants in the carpet weaving district should know. Check out the south end of town."

"Thanks, I'll be sure to do that." Will said as he handed the man two of his pressed shirts in exchange for masks and glasses of knock-off black crystal for the rest of the group. They finished up their meal and headed south. He had a feeling that they were heading toward the slums of town, and sure enough, he was right. Just like Freejia and Euro, they encountered a set of streets that were hardly paved, and buildings that were cracking and in general disrepair. Why did it always have to be this way, such suffering covered up with a blanket of wealth and excess meant for all to see? Outside of South Cape only Watermia seemed to embrace economic and social justice, but even it had its vices, namely its affliction to high-stakes gambling.

Anne and Mike were nervous, but with Will and Kara at their side, they knew they had nothing to fear. They all entered a carpet shop, and almost immediately, they noticed many young women working on a large red carpet. They did not acknowledge the customers, but kept right on working. The man behind the counter engaged them. "Hello, are you here to purchase a carpet?"

"I'm not sure." Will asked. "But my fair lady might." He said as he turned to Kara. "What do you know about these carpets?" She asked.

"Well, these carpets are going to take about forty years to weave. This one in particular that is being worked on is intended for the main floor of Edward Castle, way off in Gondwanaland."

"Did…you say forty years?" Kara asked.

"Yes. See this lady right here. She has been working on this carpet ever since she was a little girl. It's a bit surreal to see somebody's life work being completed right in front of you. Some people aren't as fortunate as you, they are born into it."

It was strange. Though the man was clearly utilizing underprivileged workers, he was actually quite reputable as a business owner. "Do you know anything about a pyramid?" Will asked.

"Yes. There's a road under construction that leads out there. It's a magnificent structure, and many merchants and other explorer-types are currently excavating it. If you take the road leading out to the northwest, it'll take you about a day and a half, but you'll get there. Just be sure you've got the provisions."

Later that afternoon, they ventured back to the Dao Inn. Will was resting in a bed, and Kara entered the room.

"Will, I have to ask you something. Why are you calling me your fair lady?" Kara asked.

"Well, it's just a way of introducing you to people." Will said. "We've been together for so long, it's only natural to say it that way."

"I think you're calling me that because you have other intentions." Kara said. She got up really close to Will, virtually pushing him up against the wall. "Maybe...romantic intentions," she said with a seductive tone.

Will blushed. He didn't know what to say or do, but he knew something was about to happen. "I have to reach the pyramids." He said, grasping at anything.

"Oh we don't have to leave today. We've been traveling for days. Just take the day and have some fun." Kara said. She put her hand on his chest, leaned forward, and kissed him.

His mind spinning, Will let Kara take over. Her metamorphosis was complete.

Day 95 –

For once, Will did not rise early. He was quite groggy when Kara entered the room and shook him. "Time to see a pyramid! Let's go!" She shouted.

Will looked up at her. She was holding Will's pack, and it was all stocked with provisions. He noticed that she had a pack of her own slung over her back. Unlike Will's royal blue pack, hers was pink, matching her dress. It was clear what her intentions were.

"Where did you get that?" Will asked.

"Some guy on the corner. I asked if he had any travel backpacks, and he showed me several. He told me I was unusual, that he had never seen a woman explorer before. But here I am."

"I take it you want to come along. I guess there's no sense in fighting it." Will said as he changed into his shirt. "But there will be rules that you will have to follow."

Before Will could elaborate, Neil rushed into the room. "Will, Kara, you'll never believe this." He said. "One of my closest associates here found this book while on an archeological dig at the pyramids. I checked the front cover and it was written by a man named Olman."

Will jumped off the bed and grabbed the book. He quickly paged through it. "It's my father's handwriting all right. This is unbelievable. He never told me he went there. Maybe he's at the pyramid and we have to find him!" He instantly noticed six hieroglyphic characters on the third page. Beneath it, Olman had written, "The sun rises over the horizon." Perhaps it was an answer to a riddle of some kind.

"I thought you would be interested." Neil said.

"Neil, maybe this is it. Maybe the sixth mystic statue is there, and so is my father. They might be at the pyramid!"

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Kara said with a smile on her face. "Let's go."

Will asked Neil if he was willing to come to the pyramid as well, but he declined, saying he had important business in Dao. Erik, Anne, and Mike also stayed back; meaning Will and Kara were headed on a date in the desert.

The date did not get off to the best of starts, for just before they got to the village's west gate, the young woman that was tending the gate noticed Kara in her pink dress. She immediately pulled the two off to the side and showed them a picture. It was of the jackal, and in it, he was holding Kara, hog-tied around the waist.


	33. The Pyramid

**Chapter 33 – The Pyramid**

Day 96 –

It was a nervous walk northward out of Dao. Will knew that the Jackal was right on their tail, heck, for all he knew he had been trailing them ever since they left Edward Castle. For all of his worrying, Kara actually didn't seem that nervous. She almost seemed satisfied that she had been able to break through her fears and her neediness to see the world. Now it was time for the final test, she was accompanying Will to his sixth and final ruin. It was her dream come true.

What wasn't a dream come true was the trail. There was lots of sand, and it was fairly deep. The dunes were difficult to climb because of the fineness of the sand, which allowed their feet to sink down to their knees on almost every step. This kept up for several hours, and all throughout, the wind continued to blow extremely hard, whipping the sand around and hampering the visibility. Every once in a while they would pass a pack of explorers headed back toward Dao, but for the most part the trail was empty.

They had traveled for roughly a day and a half. The sun was beginning to set to the west. Finally, just before sunset, they came over a vast series of dunes, and that's when they saw them. There were three pyramids, one huge, the other two modestly sized. The giant one in the center had to be at least three hundred feet high. At the base of it was a large pack of explorers, and the entranceway seemed large and well lit, even from a distance. Will and Kara walked up to the group, which numbered about ten or so.

"Looks like we have some men coming in." One of the men said as they approached. "Probably just came in from Dao."

"Hey whoa, wait a minute. Is that a girl?" Another asked at the sight of Kara's dress.

"So what is the story here?" Will asked. "How far in have they dug?"

"It's a work in progress. They've excavated a large part of the structure above ground, but getting beneath the surface has been a bit problematic. The place is booby-trapped, and it's quite dangerous, especially for anybody that's untrained."

"Well we'll just have to be careful then." Kara said assuredly.

"Miss…" the guy started.

"Kara." She said with a bit of sass.

"Miss Kara." He said. "If you don't mind my asking, what in the world are you doing in a place like this? Just look at you. You're going to take your tender frame, pink dress and all into one of the world's most pre-eminent and dangerous ruins? I'd think again if I were you."

Will tried hard to muzzle his laughter. He knew what was coming. Enraged, Kara laid into the man. "For your information, I have been on the road for three long months. I have been through hardship, pain, famine, thirst, and countless suffering. I have seen this world using only my own two feet. You think I have a problem with a pyramid?" She reached into her pack and pulled out a crown. Will had never seen it before, but he had always figured she had one. Its golden luster complemented her dark hair. She placed it on her head. "By virtue of my being the Princess of Edward Castle, I am entitled to see, hear, and do anything I please. Now if you'll excuse us."

The guy was stunned. He immediately dropped to his knees as did the others. "Forgive me your majesty, I did not know I was in the presence of royalty. You may proceed though I would advise you to be careful."

"I could have offed your head for less." Kara said sternly. "But you're a good man. However do not let your expectations carry you."

The niceties behind them, the young couple entered the pyramid. The inside of the pyramid was rather cramped, as the tunnels were fairly narrow. But they were well lit, and before long they came to a staircase leading upstairs into a main room. Just to the right of the staircase was a dark space. Will figured he would have to explain that to Kara later. They headed up to the staircase into what appeared to be a library of some kind. There were books on the shelves, and the whole back wall was plated with lavish gold. Engraved into the wall were hieroglyphics, the pictures of two Egyptian scribes, and a rectangular slot. It appeared to be a shelf without anything on it, struck into the wall. On the ground beneath the scribes were two pharaoh statues.

Another explorer was holding a book along the right wall. Will walked up to speak to him but he instantly cut him off. He whispered to Will, "Don't make a sound. There is a booby trap in this room that is tripped by sound. Be careful." Will took his advice and re-examined the back shelf. There were five lines drawn into it, as if to separate the shelf into six segments.

A minute later Will and Kara left the room and headed toward the dark space at the bottom of the staircase. The white ball of light whirled around in space, and then opened into a dark gateway as they approached it. Will stopped in front of the gate. "Do you see the entranceway up ahead?" he asked her.

"What entrance?" Kara asked. "All I see is a wall."

"You don't see the dark gateway? The one right in front of us?" Will asked.

"No. Will, I have no idea what you're talking about." Kara said.

Will thought for a minute. It had never occurred to him that the dark spaces were invisible to everybody but him. He had to think of some way to explain it to her. "Well Kara, you might not be able to see it, but I can. Throughout this adventure, I have received assistance from two individuals. One is Gaia, the source of all life on this planet. She is a great shaman that can heal all wounds and provide assistance on where to proceed. Throughout this journey I have followed her advice. She resides in what are called "dark spaces."

"Dark spaces?" Kara asked.

"The gate that I am about to walk through, that you cannot see, is a dark space. It is hard to describe. I think of it as a break in time and space." Will said.

"Weird, but it sounds cool. What about the other person?" Kara asked.

"The other person is Freedan, the dark knight. He has helped me defeat the great demons in the ruins. More than likely, I will need his help again to defeat whatever evil lurks inside the pyramid."

"Will I get to see Gaia and Freedan?" Kara asked.

"I don't think anybody but I can see Gaia, but it's entirely possible you'll see Freedan when the time comes. I'm going to enter the dark space now, I just wanted to tell you all about it so you would not panic." Will turned around and entered the gate.

Inside the dark space, Will not only saw Freedan to the left of Gaia, but he also saw a third figure to Gaia's right. He appeared to have a strange form, as though his body was somehow amorphous in some respects. Gaia spoke to Will. "You might be wondering who stands to your right. It is the form of the light warrior, Shadow. He is made of the light of the comet that approaches the earth, and is the final evolution of fighting power. In order to properly utilize Shadow's talents, I will grant you one item." Gaia raised her right hand and held out a blue sphere. It floated to Will, and he took it into his hands. "You received the Aura. The aura is Shadow's mind. Whenever he holds it over his head, he turns into a puddle, capable of seeping through tight spaces and into the underground. You may find this ability to be quite useful in exploring the underground portions of the pyramid."

Will turned around and stood in front of the statue of the Light Warrior, Shadow. A voice was heard inside his head. "I've been waiting for you to come. I am made from the light of a comet. The Ultimate Warrior, Shadow. My body has no shape. This body appears only when human consciousness evolves. The comet that now approaches Earth is a consciousness without form. My body is the only thing that can confront the comet and bring it to an end. When the time comes, I will be there to help you destroy it."

Will absorbed Shadow's words, and gave thanks that he had yet another alter-ego to assist him in the late stages of his journey. He turned around and left the dark space. Upon emerging, Will noticed that Kara was calm, much calmer than before. "It's true, you walked toward the wall and then you disappeared. A few minutes later you came right back. That's all I saw."

"Awkward huh?" Will asked. "No, really it's kind of soothing, knowing that we have some supernatural power behind us, even though I can't see it." Kara said. She held Will's hand as they ventured down a dark path lit by torches. They were officially in the underground. The path meandered for quite a ways, until finally they came to a well lit main hall, with six doorways entering deep into the pyramid. Around them, they noticed lots of bones and skeletons. Will wasn't sure if the skeletons were those of deceased Egyptians that the explorers had dug up, or if they were explorers that had met their demise. Either way, it was a chilling reminder that even though the pyramid had a large human handprint over it, it was still a ruin to be respected.

"Kara, do not leave my side." Will said as they entered the first of the six entranceways, to the far left. They traveled down another long passageway, and almost immediately they noticed several figures down at the end of the hallway. Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be armed. They took notice of the two and started walking their way. Will noticed that they were wearing steel helmets and had large shields, with spears. They also had gold jewelry adorning their arms and neck. They were quintessentially Egyptian.

"Brace yourself." Will told Kara as he drew his flute. The soldiers looked menacing. Will expected them to attack, and attack they did. One soldier lunged with his spear, and Will avoided the attack to the right. He swung his flute, but it clanged off of the soldier's shield. The other soldier swung his spear and connected with Will in the left hip. The blow hurt, but didn't land cleanly. Will swung his flute again, but the shield was just too big. They continued to advance, and Will told Kara to fall back. Will tried to sweep behind one of them along the wall, but the soldier dropped his shield and blocked the path. The other soldier attempted to trap him against the wall, but Will pushed off just enough to get back onsides. Kara moved and attempted to grab the soldier's head from behind, but it was strong, and threw her off with its right hand.

Things were looking grim. Will fought on, but could not seem to get his flute, which didn't have the range of their spears, to connect. Worse yet, they were getting pushed back toward the doorway through which they came. Two more spear thrusts, and Will again dodged. Finally, Will charged in following a missed thrust attack and took out one of the soliders at the ankles with a Psycho Slide. The other soldier tried to spear Will while he was on the ground, but before he could, Kara moved forward and smacked him in the back of the neck. There was an audible clang as the blow landed. The soldier went down as though he had been decapitated, then blew up into a ball of dust. It left a dark gem. Will quickly defeated the other soldier while Kara admired her apparent weapon, a sparkling pink flute.

"I always wondered how flutes could be so deadly." Kara said with a smile. She picked up the the soldier's shield and spear, as well as his jewelry. The gold pieces fit perfectly on her arms and neck.

"That was amazing Kara." Will said as he picked up a helmet, spear and shield. "And good idea, we're going to need these weapons. Where did you get that flute?"

"Oh, I found it in Freejia, while you were away at the Diamond Mine. I never thought I'd have to fight with it but I was always curious as to its power."

"Mine has served me well, but it may have outlived its usefulness. Let's move." Will said. They headed down the hallway and moved down another long set of stairs. They now had to be at least a hundred feet underground. Strangely enough though, there were still many torches and plenty of light on the path. Before long they came up to another pack of Egyptian soldiers, this time numbering four. Will and Kara moved forward and engaged the first two. The path was so narrow that only two could get through, meaning that any numbers advantage that the Egyptians had was negated. They pushed and shoved, and occasionally went for a body blow with the spear. Kara struggled though, and before long she toppled backward. Will got shoved out of the way by the other soldier, who blocked his path. Kara struggled quickly to her feet but had dropped her weapons.

It was a nightmare scenario for Will, who couldn't reach her. "Kara!" he shouted in vain as the two remaining soldiers appeared ready to skewer her with their spears. She stood firm, with fire in her eyes. Her gaze pierced into the eyes of the soldiers, who seemed to stutter a bit with their weapons. It was as though their arms had become heavy and their stamina was seeping away. A few of them started to visibly tremble. Kara continued to stare holes into their souls, her female fists clenched. The soldiers rose their weapons once more as if to attack. Then they stopped entirely and stood at ease.

There was an awkward silence for the next ten seconds or so as they all stood together, seemingly fearful of one another. Then the soldiers all bowed in front of Kara. Will could not believe what he was seeing. Had Kara somehow played a trick on the soldiers' minds? Then it dawned on him. Like a flash, he remembered his experience in the Incan Gold Ship, where the Inca had thought he was their king. With Kara's beautiful dress, Egyptian jewelry and weapons, as well as her crown, the soldiers had likely mistaken her for their pharoah.

The soldiers rose and stood at the ready. Kara, no stranger to such a powerful position, immediately called to them. "Lead on!" she shouted as she pointed toward the end of the hallway. The soldiers turned and marched down the hall, leading them to a shrine room with an altar in it. It appeared to be a dead end, but on the back wall behind the altar was a stone lithograph with a hieroglyph on it. Will attempted to remove it and it came out of the wall fairly easily. The stone was fairly heavy, but nothing that a strong young man couldn't carry.

For the next two hours or so, Kara controlled the Egyptian soldiers with a vice grip. At her command they lead her and Will through the different passageways and chambers of the pyramid, each with its own unique features. At the end of each chamber, they picked up another of the stone hieroglyphs. The third chamber had a giant hill to climb, so for a brief moment Will had to separate from Kara and use the Spin Dash to climb it. The fourth chamber had an ancient elevator of sorts, which led them down to their deepest penetration yet, at least two hundred feet below ground. And the fifth chamber was the most dangerous, with many mummies that came to life and a booby-trapped ceiling that fell in spots. By this time though, Kara and Will had run into so many soldiers that they were practically escorted by an army. The Egyptians escorted them around the most dangerous sections, and before long they had reached the fifth stone hieroglyph. There was now only one remaining. Will did not know their purpose yet, but he was sure carrying a lot of weight.

The sixth and final chamber was the most arduous yet, with mummies of all sorts coming after them. Will re-equipped his flute, as it was the most effective in close quarter combat with the possessed demons. Kara also showed her prowess, fending them off with her pink instrument. And of course, the soldiers did their best to keep their deceased ancestors from bothering the pharaoh and her apprentice, though some were just too persistent. Before too long, they had reached the end of the chamber, and Will grabbed the final stone hieroglyph. It was time to return above.

When they reached ground level again, the soldiers stopped, indicating to Kara that they could not travel above ground. She relived them of duty, and they bowed one final time.

"It's a good thing you came along. This ruin would have been difficult to traverse without you." Will admitted sheepishly.

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Kara said. "Let's go solve the riddle."

They returned to the library room in the top of the pyramid. Once they got there, Will and Kara unpacked the stone hieroglyphs they had collected. There were six of them, and there were six spaces along the wall for them to go. Right alongside the edges of the zone were the booby-trapped statues they had been warned about earlier. The explorer from earlier was gone, meaning that they were on their own to tiptoe and be as quiet as possible.

"What order do they go in?" Kara whispered.

Will wasn't sure of the answer. After all, the stones were of random hieroglyphs, and did not connect or give any indication of the order in which they needed to be placed. Then Will remembered his father's journal. "I bet it's in the book." Will whispered back.

Will took the book and flipped through the pages. On page three, he examined the hieroglyphics, the same ones he noticed in his initial reading in Dao. He had just skimmed it then, but now he noticed that some of the hieroglyphic characters matched up with those of the stones they had collected. In fact, they all did. "Look at this." Will whispered to Kara. "There are six hieroglyphs going across in the book, and there are six stones to be placed. I think the book means for the stones to be placed in the same order here."

Kara nodded her head in agreement. She took the first stone and placed it in the hole farthest to the left. Will placed the second, Kara the third, then Will the fourth. As Kara took the fifth stone, she whispered to him. "This is exciting, it's as though the power of the ancients is about to be fully released." Will agreed. "Yes, now all we need is the last one." He said as she placed the fifth stone. Will went back to get the sixth and final stone when he heard an awkward noise from behind. He turned around and noticed a most unexpected visitor.


	34. The Comet Approaches

**Chapter 34 – The Comet Approaches**

"Heh heh heh. So you've ventured to the very corners of the Earth?" The Jackal said menacingly. "Your father would have never believed it."

"Let me go." Kara said defiantly. The Jackal laughed. He had her arms pinned, and had a sharp hunting knife right against her neck. "I guess you just don't learn. And to think that you put up with the commoners the whole time, with all the hardship, all the pain, all in the name of running away from your own family."

"I hate you, I hate my father and mother. Let me go." Kara said again.

"Don't speak like that." The Jackal said. "You can't betray your own, it's just not in human nature to do that. Who knows what could happen? Come with me to Edward Castle."

"She doesn't want to go, you can't make her." Will scolded the Jackal in as quiet a voice as possible given the circumstances. He took a step toward Kara, but his grasp around Kara got tighter and the knife touched her fair skin. "Come any closer, and I'll use this knife." The Jackal said calmly.

"You would dare not hurt her, King Edward would have your head." Will said.

The Jackal laughed. "He doesn't scare me. He's my puppet. I'll take care of him when the time comes. But business comes first."

Will was frustrated. He had no idea how the Jackal had gotten into the room, much less how he had managed to subdue Kara so quickly. The look on Kara's face was defiant. He knew that she would rather die than return alive to Edward Castle. By approaching the Jackal, he would seal her fate.

But then he noticed something. The Jackal was standing near the booby-trapped statue on the right side of the room. Will stepped back, and drew his flute.

The Jackal was thrown a bit. He didn't know if Will meant to attack, or if it was a diversion of some kind. Will put the flute to his lips and began to play Lola's Melody, as loudly as he possibly could.

"If you think playing a song is going to help you, then you're dumber than I thought." The Jackal said smugly. As Will continued to play, he noticed the two statues in the room began to flash a reddish color. The one on the right was right behind the Jackal, but Kara was also precariously near. But it was his only chance, and he knew it. Just as Will finished the song, the statue shot out a large stream of flames that shot out in three directions, engulfing the Jackal. He instantly jumped out and started screaming. He dropped the knife and lost grip on Kara, who thankfully was just outside of both statues' range. Instantly he began flopping on the ground, trying to pat out the flames. Kara picked up the knife. She had never felt such anger before in her life. She planned to sever the Jackal's head with the knife, but such brutality was not necessary, as the Jackal simply burned on the sandstone floor. He attempted to crawl across the floor toward Will, and nearly got to him before his final collapse. The Jackal was dead.

Suddenly Will overheard his Gaia's voice. "Will, the sixth and final mystic statue is ahead. In four days' time, the comet with enter Earth's atmosphere. You must go to the Tower of Babel and save Earth!"

Will and Kara were both in a seeming trance, Kara over the surprise attack and Will over Gaia's words. Then they snapped out of it. "The final stone, Will, put it in." Kara said. Will grabbed the remaining hieroglyph and pushed it into the wall. Almost immediately there was a huge audible thud, followed by two more such sounds. Then the wall began to open up, revealing a dark passageway lighted by fire torches. The two walked hand in hand down the dark tunnel, until they eventually came to another entrance. They walked up the stairs into a magnificent throne room. On the throne sat a tall woman wearing a light blue dress and a stunning golden crown. She had a blue staff in her right hand.

"Who dares enter my sacred chamber?" The pharaoh bellowed. "Please show yourselves."

Will and Kara approached, walking up a red carpet toward the throne. They knelt down before the throne. "Your majesty, we have come in search of the mystic statue of the pyramid." Will said. "A comet of death and destruction approaches the Earth. The mystic statues are the key to earth's survival from the coming holocaust."

"Your majesty, do you know of its whereabouts?" Kara asked.

The pharaoh appeared to be quite annoyed. "So it is true, you are the explorers of legend. Young lady, be truthful to me, are you Egyptian?" The pharaoh asked.

"Well, not exactly." Kara said meekly.

"Then why do you dress as one? You deceived my soldiers, and enlisted their help to get you and your friend to reach the spot where you now stand. You are a treacherous one. But your friend is even more treacherous!" The pharaoh turned to Will and gave him a fiery look. "You are hoping to deny the dead their day! The day when all living things on Earth perish is the day that the dead take their rightful place as rulers of the planet! And as the mummified pharaoh of the Pyramid, it is my destiny to rule over all! That day is coming, in only four short days time, and you aim to obtain the one item that will defeat the prophecy of the ancients!"

"This, I will not allow." The pharaoh stood up and waved her staff. Within seconds, a large balcony dropped from the ceiling and rested about twenty feet above the ground. Will got the feeling that the pharaoh had her own ruthless agenda, and that vicious fight was coming. His suspicions were confirmed when Kara suddenly vanished, the pharaoh froze in place, and he heard Gaia's voice. "For this battle, you have the option of enlisting the Dark Knight, Freedan, or the Warrior of Light, Shadow. Make your decision."

"Freedan." Will said firmly, standing to fight with his more comfortable alter-ego. "Very well." Gaia said, and Will dropped to his knees. He lost consciousness.

The Pharaoh rose her staff above her head. The pyramid seemed to start shaking, and large stones fell from the ceiling. Freedan dodged them, and drew his sword. He rushed in against the Pharaoh and swung away. It clanged off of her staff. The Pharaoh responded by pointing her staff at him. The end of it lit up and a charged shot of energy shot out at Freedan. It struck him right in the chest. The energy sapped Freedan's strength. Unhappy with the long range attack, Freedan approached again. He swung his sword at her again, and this time the sword attack connected right across her midsection. But instead of slicing right through her dress, it caused her to suddenly disappear from existence. Instead, a mummified spirit appeared where she had vanished. Suddenly, that spirit split into many spirits and spread out in all directions. One of them nailed Freedan in the arm, and another attempted to take him out at the knees. Freedan took both blows, but managed to stay on his feet. The spirits then attempted to chase him. Before long he was backed into a corner with a blue puddle of fluid in it. He continued to back up, into the puddle. It was a transporter! Within a second, it transported him up to the balcony high above.

The spirits re-combined on the lower floor and the pharaoh came back into existence. Noticing her adversary on the upper level, she grabbed the hem of her dress and began to float up into the air. Freedan was surprised. Apparently she really was deceased, because no mortal was capable of defying gravity. The dark knight could not reconcile fighting against a ghost. His nerves were shot. As the pharaoh charged up for another energy attack, Freedan felt his consciousness beginning to fade. It was as though he had lost control of his own body.

From a puddle of white emerged Shadow, the Warrior of Light. Holding the Aura over his head, he turned back into a puddle, and began to seep through the balcony floor. It recollected on the lower lever, and his form quickly re-shaped. Now it was the pharaoh that had lost her nerves. It was apparent that her adversary was no longer mortal. But if that was the case, why was it not under her command? Angry and confused, she shot out three more energy blasts, all of which Shadow dodged. Shadow attacked with his strong arms and nailed the pharaoh right beneath the chin. She instantly split into mummified spirits again, but Shadow dodged these by transporting back to the upper level. Once the pharaoh re-emerged, she raised her staff in an attempt to drop ceiling tiles onto Shadow, but he again used the Aura to turn into a puddle, and the boulders did no harm whatsoever. After taking another hit from Shadow on the lower level, the pharaoh took to the air and tried to fire energy from far away. But the Warrior was able to float for short distances and could jump extremely far. He leapt from the balcony and swung his arm. It clanged off of the pharaoh's staff, but it shook her concentration, for she ended up falling to the ground, landing hard on her right leg and arm. Her staff went flying across the floor.

Shadow rushed in to attack, and did so viciously. All it took was one big swing to the head, and the battle was over. The pyramid's leader blew up in a vicious explosion, and once the flames settled, the final mystic statue emerged. Shadow began to lose consciousness.

Will picked up the mystic statue, which stood on the floor in front of the throne. As he did so, he heard his father's voice coming from the flute. "Will, my son, you have done my will. Bring the six mystic statues to the Tower of Babel. I am waiting for you."

When Will left the throne room and re-entered the library, Kara was waiting. "So, you defeated the lord of the pyramid?" she asked.

"Yes. And here's the mystic statue. It's time to get back to Dao, time is short." Will said.

"I saw Gaia. She spoke to me." Kara said. Will smiled. "And what did Gaia say?" he asked.

"She told me that I would be elemental in helping you achieve final victory." .

Day 98 –

They had left the pyramid under the cover of night, and in fairly calm conditions. But ahead was another day and a half trip through the sandy wasteland. Will and Kara were both tired yet exuberant over their conquest. They continued to traverse the sands until afternoon on Day 98, when they saw the village of Dao returning into their sights. They entered the town and headed immediately to the house next to the Dao Inn, where Neil had been living.

Neil, Erik, Anne, and Mike were all sitting at a table when they arrived. They all stood up immediately when Will entered the room.

"So do you have them all?" Erik asked.

"Yes." Will responded. The room exploded into cheers. "Tower of Babel, here we come!" Erik shouted as he hugged Will. Anne and Mike sunk into each other's arms, and tears of joy poured out. Neil of course, was less exuberant, but even he had a look of excitement on his face.

"So how exactly do we reach Babel?" Kara asked.

"We, well, gee I'm not exactly sure." Will said. "Neil, what are we going to do? It's such a little island."

"We could always walk to the seashore, and take a boat." Neil said.

"That's not going to be fast enough." Will said.

"Why not?" Erik asked.

Will's tone changed quickly from celebratory to stern. "Because the comet is going to enter earth's atmosphere very soon. We don't have time to waste on a boat in the middle of the sea."

"I agree!" Kara shouted. "We already did that for three weeks."

Neil looked down, and put his hands on his chin. Then he looked them in the eye. "So that's it then. We're taking the airplane."

"What? Oh no we're not!" Erik shouted.

"When did you build another airplane?" Will asked.

"My original airplane was actually built in Euro, near my parents' home." Neil explained. We had an airfield just south of the city. The one we flew on at the Sky Garden was a different model. After the crash near Mu, I thought about what went wrong, and when I got back to Euro I fixed up my original plane and flew it out to Dao. It's here. All we have to do is get it properly fueled and move all the sand out of the cockpit."

"Neil, you're so cool." Kara said.

"So, you had a crash before?" Anne asked.

Neil explained. "We were out in the ocean near Mu, and the plane hit some turbulence and went down. We parachuted out. I figured the cause and have made the necessary adjustments to the motor, propeller and interior design. This time the plane won't crash. I would bet my life."

"So after we go to the Tower of Babel, where do we go from there?" Mike asked.

"It depends. If there is an airfield on Babel Island, we'll be able to land there. If not, then we'll have to head south toward Gondwanaland. South Cape will be our ultimate destination, of course." Neil asked.

"So how long until we leave?" Will asked.

"It's too late in the afternoon to leave today, but we'll make sure we have the necessary fuel and provisions for the next three days or so. I'll test it, and then tomorrow morning we'll leave for the south coast of Laurasia. We should get there before dark. Then the day after next, it's the journey over the ocean to Babel Island. At that point there will be no turning back."

Will did not know it then, but he would remember Neil's words for the rest of his life.


	35. The Tower of Babel

**Chapter 35 – The Tower of Babel**

Day 99 –

"Everybody strap yourselves in! We're coming in for a landing!" Neil shouted as they approached the sandy beach. Will, Mike, and Kara moved in off the wing and into the tight cockpit, normally reserved for just three people. They swooped down at a furious pace over the trees before making a hard turn to the left. They now traveled right over the beach. The plane touched down near the surf, hardly without any turbulence at all. Within a few minutes, the plane had come to a complete stop. It was an expert landing, one through which they had all held their breaths.

They feasted on fresh supplies of mushrooms and other vegetables, to go with their rations of bread and water that they had brought from Dao. The sun set in the west, and then the stars emerged amid a dark backdrop without a cloud in sight. It was a pretty sight, but amid the stars they had seen for the past ninety plus nights, there was a new piece of light, the light of the comet. Its light obscured that of the other stars in its path as it streaked across the sky. It was a grim reminder of what was coming their way.

Will was lying on the soft sand, looking to get some rest, when Kara leaned over to him. Everybody else was fast asleep.

"Will, if this is the end of the world, I'm glad to be spending my last days with you." She said.

"Don't speak like that." Will said. "We're going to be fine."

Kara nodded. "Thank you for saving me. Twice. No…three times."

"Actually it was only two. I can't take credit for the one at the Natives' Village. That was all Erik." Will said.

The words hung in the air, and they both laughed. "You think he would ever go into ruins on his own?" Kara asked sarcastically. They laughed again. Truthfully, even though Erik had taken a lot of abuse for his lack of courage, it was all in good fun. When push came to shove, Will knew that Erik always had his back. After all, along with Will and Kara, he had made it the entire journey from South Cape, something that no one else in the group could say. To make it through ninety nine days of hardship took a lot of guts.

That being said, it was doubtful that Erik would get closer to the Tower of Babel than viewing it from an airplane. Kara on the other hand, would be right by his side, the entire way. And for once, he was truly grateful for her presence. In many ways, she had shaped him and changed his life just as much as he had changed her. That night, Will had a dream about him and Kara on a tropical island somewhere, just having the time of their lives. They splashed around in the sea and lay out on the warm sand. When he woke up, Will vowed to make his dream a reality.

Day 100 –

"Are you ready to see your father again?" Anne and Mike asked from the cockpit.

"Yes. I just hope he's okay, wherever he is. That is all that matters now, that I get to see him alive and well. I'd do anything; give anything to see my father in good spirits."

"Neil, are we ready to go?" Kara asked. "Yes." Neil responded as he fired up the motor. The propeller began to spin, and before long they took off down the runway, before long they were airborne, and Neil turned the plane to the left out over the ocean. They were officially on their way toward Babel Island.

"What does the Tower of Babel look like?" Erik asked Will.

"It is a structure taller than anything ever created." Will said. It is literally hundreds, possibly thousands of feet high. You have to see it just to appreciate its massive size."

"Who was responsible for building it?" Anne asked.

"Legend has it that thousands of years ago, the ancient Babylonians attempted to build a tower high enough to reach into the heavens. They wanted to reach the heavens in order to form a connection between heaven and earth. According to legend, the Christian God saw what they were doing, and commanded them to cease building the structure. But his decree only strengthened the Babylonians' resolve, and they continued to build the tower. Eventually, the tower was nearing completion, but just as they were about to finish the top floor, God struck the tower with a vicious bolt of lightning. The people were scattered all about the Earth, and as a result of the lightning, spoke different tongues once they were scattered. The area around the tower was broken off from the main land of Babylonia and drifted southward, eventually settling in the middle of the ocean where it sits today."

"So by doing this, the Christian God made sure that the people would not come back together and complete the tower." Mike said.

"Something like that." Will said. He looked over to the left and noticed something in the distance. Neil saw it too, and called out from behind the wheel. "Tower of Babel, ahead on the left!"

The five other adventurers looked from the plane to the left, and indeed, approaching them was a gigantic stone tower, a solid cylinder stretching upward right out of the ocean. Neil put the plane into a dive, then turned it hard to the left. He leveled off below the tower's top height, and circled it in order to give everybody a bird's eye view of the spectacle of Babylonian might.

"There's really nowhere to land the plane on that little island." Neil said to Will. It's too rocky and there isn't enough space to land or take off. You'll have to parachute in."

Will turned to Kara as he grabbed two parachutes. Are you ready?" he asked. "Strap this on. After thirty seconds, press the red button, and the chute will open."

"Wow, we're going to jump! How exciting!" Kara shouted as she strapped on the parachute.

"Once you two are off, we'll head to South Cape to drop Erik, Anne, and Mike." Neil said as he turned the plane back around and they gained altitude. Will and Kara made their way to the end of the right wing. They approached the island again, and this time they were way above the top of the tower. It was time to go. "Good luck Will, good luck Kara," they all said as they jumped simultaneously. Kara let out a scream as they rocketed downward toward Babel Island.

Will dropped faster than did Kara, a result of air resistance. He was maybe about a thousand feet above the tower when he opened his chute. He looked upward and saw that Kara had already done the same, about a hundred feet or so above. They descended slowly and eventually landed on a rocky patch of moss and mixed vegetation.

"Now Kara, whatever you do, do not leave my sight." Will said sternly. "This place is the most dangerous ruin in the entire world. Let's go hand in hand."

Kara nodded. "Let's find Olman." She told Will.

They entered the tower. In the first room, they found a statue of Freedan, the Dark Knight. Further down the hallway was a passageway up to the second floor. But a strange bit of light blocked the doorway. Kara went toward it first and she walked right through it. Will followed, but he was immediately hit with a sharp pain in the stomach, and he was pushed backward onto the floor.

"Will, are you okay?" Kara asked. The blow was unexpected, and it certainly hurt. Will was a bit groggy as he got up. He had dropped his flute, and gingerly moved to retrieve it. That's when he noticed a blue crystal ring on the ground next to the flute. "Hey, what's this ring?" Will asked as he picked it up.

"I don't know." Kara asked. But I know it wasn't there before."

"It must have fallen from the flute." Will said. Then a thought rang into his head. "You don't suppose this is my father's crystal ring? The one that King Edward was looking for? Even Grandma Lola told me one time that it was dark blue."

"I think it is. And look at this." Kara said. "When I went through the light in the doorway a minute ago, I was wearing the light blue crystal ring I took from the Incan Gold Ship. I think that's why I was able to get through the doorway, it protected me. Here, watch." Kara took off her ring and put it on the floor. "Be careful Kara!" Will shouted. She reached her hand out toward the doorway, and once it hit the light, her hand recoiled.

Will put on the dark blue ring and reached out to the light. It no longer bothered him. And so it was, they were able to pass thanks to their jewelry. On the second floor was a jewel box, and inside it were two red jewels, giving Will the 49th and 50th of his journey. After putting them into his pack, he walked up to the third floor. There was a doorway there that appeared to lead into pitch darkness. Next to it was a spirit. Will moved forward and spoke to it. "Inside this room is the demon that you defeated previously. There are five of these rooms in all, and you must call on the Warrior of Light to defeat the demons. Once you are victorious, you may proceed to the next floor."

"I'll wait here." Kara said. Will entered the dark room. When he did so, he noticed that he was in a strange room, with darkness and stars of light flying around the room. In the center of the room was Castoth, the giant demon that he had defeated in the Incan Ruins. Before he could move a muscle, his consciousness began to fade. He transformed into Shadow, the Warrior of Light.

Fighting as Shadow, Castoth was an easier opponent than when he had fought him the first time. He attempted to attack with his monstrous hands and by shooting fireballs, but Shadow's long range wreaked havoc on the demon. Before long, Shadow had won the battle, and had transformed back. The whole room then appeared to get blurred and turned upside down.

The next thing Will knew, he was back in the Tower. "Very good." Kara said. "We can now move forward." And move forward they did, to the tower's fourth floor. On the fourth floor, there was another dark passageway. Will knew that a rematch with Viper was next.

He tried not to remember his first encounter with Viper, but when he looked into the eyes of the eagle demon, bad memories of hanging thousands of feet over the desert returned. This time though, there was no huge drop off a floating platform. Will, or more accurately, his new alter ego Shadow, would have the advantage. Viper opened up the battle by shooting needle-tipped feathers, but Shadow was able to dodge these and attack with his long arms. Viper flew up high and attempted to dive bomb the Warrior of Light, but Shadow turned into a puddle and avoided the attack. When he re-formed, he continued the attack. The eagle tried to counter by attacking with his razor-sharp talons, but Shadow was just too quick for Viper. A few more hits to the eagle's midsection and the battle was over. Shadow lost consciousness, and before he knew it, Will was standing back on the Tower's fourth floor. The next doorway was open.

When Will and Kara went through the doorway, they noticed it led them onto a balcony outside. They walked across the balcony, and after they turned the corner, Will noticed Viper again, perched on the railing.

"You dastardly demon!" Will shouted. "What do I have to do to defeat you?"

"You need not do any more." Viper said. "I have come to realize my transgressions. You are indeed the great warrior, the only one capable of saving this planet from certain destruction. Come, we must go to the top of the tower, before it is too late."

Will wasn't sure what to think. Viper was offering him and Kara a ride to the top, but he wasn't sure if it was a trap. After all, the eagle had twice attempted to kill him. He looked over to his left. The sun was starting to set. Knowing what Gaia had told him days earlier, he only had a few hours to climb the remainder of the tower. And they had a long way to go.

Will and Kara walked over to Viper, and the eagle took them in its talons. "You gave me your word, now do your best." He said. Viper took off and flew upward, past the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth floors. The eagle flapped hard but was clearly bristling with exertion. They reached the thirteenth level of the tower when Viper finally tired. He set them down on the floor and took off into the distance. "Good luck Will." The demon said as he flew away.

"Well, at least it got us this far." Kara said. Will was confused, but he let go of his thoughts.

Back inside the tower, Will came upon more darkness. A rematch with the Vampires loomed.

Shadow dodged a charged shot from the vampires. The fighting zone was cramped, unlike the first battle on the beaches of Mu. He had a difficult time dodging the attacks of his vampire attackers, most notably the shots of energy that seemed to fly in all directions. Worse yet, the vampires took to the air, making it difficult for Shadow to get close enough to attack.

The vampire man swiped at Shadow from short range, knocking him down. The vampire woman then came from behind and fired an energy shot that connected. Shadow was losing the battle and his stamina. Something had to be done. He took another energy shot from the vampire man, and became angered. He jumped high into the air and slammed him with his right arm. He then backed the vampire into the corner of the arena. Cornered, Shadow took swing after swing at him, rearranging his facial features. The vampire woman shot an energy blast at Shadow that missed, then came from behind and grabbed him in a sleeper hold. She then bared her fangs.

"Silvana! No!" The vampire man shouted. But it was too late. "Jack, this is for you!" The female vampire shouted as she took a bite of Shadow's pure comet-produced light. Instantly, the light poured into her insides, and she started to go crazy. Her body convulsed and fell to the ground, occasionally flopping around.

"What, how dare you do that to my wife! I'll never forgive you!" The vampire man shouted as he approached Shadow. They fought hard in close quarters, and both fighters dealt extreme damage to the other. Amid the punches, Shadow was able to push the vampire back, and was again able to corner him. This time, he did not fail to end the battle, driving his right arm repeatedly in the vampire's head to finish things. Shadow fell to his knees and blacked out.

Following the battle, Will and Kara moved farther up the tower. Noticing that his strength had been sapped to a large degree, Will nibbled on some medicinal herbs before heading into the fourth room of darkness. The sand fanger of China's Great Wall awaited, but Shadow had no trouble at all defeating the giant centipede. Following the battle, Will and Kara moved on to the fifteenth floor. On this floor there was a door leading into the inner core of the tower, and waiting for them were the two vampires, Jack and Silvana.

"You are a strong one." Jack said to Will.

"And so are you." Silvana said to Kara.

"A great evil threatens. Time is short, we must go to the top of the Tower of Babel." They both said in unison. Will and Kara did not have any time to react, and the vampires grabbed them at their waists. Ordinarily this would have caused them to panic, but after their encounter with Viper, they admired their former adversaries for burying the hatchet and helping them reach their goal. The vampires lifted off and carried them upward. Level after level zoomed by beneath them. Finally, at around level thirty-four or thirty-five, the vampires let them down on the floor.

"Ahead is your last adversary before reaching your goal. You're almost there." Jack said.

"Do not yield, and do not give up. We believe in you." Silvana said. Then they flew off into the distance of the tower's inner core.

Indeed one more matchup, this time with the Pyramid's mummified pharaoh, awaited Will. The battle was actually quite simple the second time around since he had fought as Shadow in the initial fight in the pyramid. Using many of the same tactics he employed in the pyramid, Shadow quickly disposed of the pharaoh and opened the way forward. Back in the tower, Will and Kara moved up to the Tower's thirty-sixth floor. Down the hallway, there was an entrance to a room on the right. They went into the room. It was a small room, with a very high ceiling. There was nothing in the room, except for a single skeleton. At this particular moment, Will heard a voice come from his flute.

"Will, it's me, Olman, your father." A white spirit came into view, hovering over the skeleton.


	36. Heavenly Throwdown

**Chapter 36 – Heavenly Throwdown**

"My body has decayed, but I live on like this." Olman said.

"Father, why are you in that form!" No, No, No! This, this can't be happening. This isn't true! This can't be!"

"Will, Will my son please."

"No, you cannot be dead. I did not come all this way to see you like this! Oh will the wrath of a thousand gods fall upon whomever is responsible for this!" Will punched the air several times before falling down. Kara caught him when he reached his knees.

"Will, please. All hope is not lost, please here what I am about to say." Olman said. Will was about to start shouting again but Kara held him tightly. His eyes were welling up. "This is a strange room, it is filled with the light of the comet. Time goes so fast here that people evolve very quickly." Olman said.

"Why are Kara and I able to live?" Will shouted, tears streaming down his face.

"Because you two are evolved humans." Olman said.

"Us?" Kara asked, her arms still wrapped around Will.

"Long ago there existed biological technology using the light of the comet. People freely used the power to make plants and animals. For example, they made the camel. It can go long periods without food or water. When people realized the power could be used as a weapon, demons were developed. And on that day, the world was on the brink of ruin. At that time, the Knights of Darkness and Light were developed to decide the fate of humanity. They are your ancestors. The six mystic statues were made by the Knights."

Olman paused for a moment. Will and Kara were deathly still, their breath very heavy. Finally, Olman spoke again. "The comet is very close. The two of you must go to the roof of the Tower. Close your eyes."

Will fought back the tears enough to shut his eyes, and Kara did the same. They could feel themselves lifted off the ground, as though they were weightless. After about twenty seconds or so, they felt their feet back on solid ground. Will opened his eyes. They were on the roof of the tower. The night sky was filled with light from the stars, and the comet, which was now very near Earth's atmosphere. On the floor of the roof there were six miniature pedestals, spread out in a hexagonal formation.

"The ancients worshipped the comets as a spirit." Olman said. "Those who bathed in the comet's light were given a strange power. The comet is called a spirit, but it's an unwelcome spirit. Evolving too fast brings destruction. As long as people have evil hearts, demons will be born. Will, Kara, open your eyes and look around."

At this moment, five other spirits appeared on the top of the tower. Will walked over to the first. "Even though I can see the real world, I can't touch it." A woman's voice said. Will recognized it as Neil's mother. "No matter how difficult it may get, I can't help you." Will's eyes began to well again with the memory of his pouring of the teapot in Euro.

The second spirit, ironically enough, was Neil's father. "Neil! What are you doing? I want him to make the Rolek Company grow bigger and bigger." Will's sadness immediately melted away as he remembered what his good deed had done to the labor trade.

The third spirit Will immediately recognized as his fallen friend, Seth. "Ah Will, it's been a long time. Such a world. If I could speak of this at an academy I would be a great scholar. Save us Will, so that I might someday." "I'll do it for you Seth. Friends forever buddy." Will told him.

The fourth spirit wasn't even human. "Oink, oink." It was Hamlet. Will was thrown off, and forgetting the situation for a second, even laughed. True enough, without Hamlet, it was possible that he would not have lived to see this moment. Really, in spirit form, there was no difference between humans and animals.

He turned around and headed for the fifth spirit, which was right next to Olman. It was his mother, Shira. "Will, I raised you to be strong, independent, righteous and courageous. You have exemplified all of these traits and have traveled the world in support of your father and me. Now it's time for the final battle, and I know that you'll be my little warrior."

Hearing that, Will nearly started to cry again, but he simply looked ahead stoically. He then turned around to Kara. "This is all, just surreal." He said to her. "Like we're in some sort of dream." Then he turned back to Olman's spirit.

"At last, the time is near. Everybody, give them your power!" Olman commanded. The other spirits moved into a circle surrounding Will and Kara, then dissipated. Then Olman's spirit spoke again. "In order to defeat the evil within the comet, you must awaken the Warrior's ultimate power, the Firebird. It is said that when the Dark Knight becomes one with the Light Knight, that power is unlocked by virtue of the six mystic statues contained in the ruins. Thus, there are two necessary elements in bringing forth the Firebird. Will, throughout this adventure, you've changed. You have become bigger, faster, stronger, smarter, and developed into a true fighter. You have connected with your ancestry and have become one with the Dark Knight."

"So if I am one with the Dark Knight, who is one with the Light Knight?" Will asked. There was a long pause, and Will slowly turned his head toward Kara. Kara's face was flushed. "No, it can't be. It's impossible." She said, backing up from Olman's spirit.

"Kara." Olman said. "Come forth." She nervously stepped back alongside Will. "One hundred days ago, you were but a spoiled child of royalty. Through trial and hardship, you have obtained fortitude, intelligence, wisdom, and the raw power necessary to rule over all. You have connected with those before you and have become one with the Light Knight."

Will and Kara looked at each other. They would fight this final fight, together. They nodded to one another, and began to place the mystic statues on the six pedestals. When they were done doing so, they began to glow.

"Your battle will change the fate of humanity. Now you must go to the comet! Take each other's hands!" Olman shouted.

Will and Kara turned toward each other and reached out to one another. When they did so, there was a huge flash of light all around them. The statues began to rotate around them in midair. Another huge flash followed, and soon after they both began to feel woozy. The transformation was nearly complete.

Shadow lifted off the roof of the Tower of Babel and flew straight up into the heavens. His speed was blistering, and before long he had gone clear into the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere. The comet was in sight. The Warrior of Light cut a path right across its path, and landed directly on the surface. As it did so, a big mouth appeared on the surface of the comet. Shadow went to attack it but noticed that as he did so, orange birds of fire streamed out from his wingspan. One of them found the mark and injured the mouth as it released a big green ball of energy. The ball went skyward and split apart, raining back down toward Shadow. Using the Aura, it turned into a liquid to avoid the attack. Upon re-forming, it resumed its attacks against the mouth using the Firebird. It again took the hit and released another ball of energy. The sparks fell back to the comet's surface, and Shadow again evaded the attack, this time by moving between them. In this attack-and-retreat pattern, Shadow was able to wear down the comet's mouth, and eventually it yielded. There was a big flash of light, followed by a crystallization of darkness. The light and darkness separated, and the comet returned to normal.

Aboard the comet now was a giant, black being with a hideous face and long tentacles for arms. It appeared to be similar to Gaia, but it was not Gaia. The tentacle arms of the being shot green energy balls at Shadow. One of the balls connected, and did damage to Shadow's left arm. With pain shooting through his limb, it suddenly dawned on the Warrior that if Gaia was the source of life, than this must be Dark Gaia, the source of death! He had gotten the great evil of comet to manifest itself! Again, the being shot energy, and this time Shadow dodged it using the Aura. Now all the Warrior had to do was find Dark Gaia's weak point and defeat it.

Unfortunately, what should have been a simple task proved to be quite difficult. Though Dark Gaia did not physically move, it was made out of solid rock, and even Shadow's strong firebird attacks were unable to penetrate through it. Worse yet, the energy attacks were very accurate, and Shadow tried everything to dodge them. Between turning into liquid and trying to juke out the incoming blasts, the Warrior took its fair amount of damage. Another thing that concerned Shadow was the appearance of blue spheres coming out of the comet. They did not move quickly, but they seemed to move in random patterns, all around him. The firebird attack caused them to dissipate, but trying to keep up with them in addition to the green energy blasts coming from the arms of Dark Gaia was difficult.

Confused and befuddled, Shadow took a risk. Reaching out with the left hand, the Warrior grabbed one of the blue spheres of pure comet. The sphere was heavy, and it seemed to draw energy as it flashed a bright blue. With a windup, Shadow tossed it in the direction of Dark Gaia, but upon release, the energy of the sphere interacted with the power of the firebird and gave off a burst of blue and orange sparks. It shocked the Warrior's hand. It was clearly not the way to break through. While Shadow shook the right hand out a bit to combat the stinging pain, Dark Gaia dropped its mouth. The Warrior took notice of the mouth, and saw that more green energy was building up within, similar to the energy coming from the arms. Shadow turned and launched a barrage of firebird attacks. The first firebird connected just below the chin and dispersed, but the second connected right on Dark Gaia's tongue. The entire being flashed a bright white for a split second, then returned to black. Another firebird connected the mouth and Dark Gaia flashed again. Then it did it a third time. Finally, just as the fifth firebird connected, Dark Gaia released a massive burst of green energy from its mouth. Since Shadow had sold out totally to attack, he was unprotected, and the energy hit him like a tidal wave of raging water. The Warrior was flung backward and landed hard on his head. The Aura slipped out of his hand and rolled away on the surface of the comet.

Shadow gingerly got up and retrieved the Aura, using it to turn into a puddle to avoid three energy shots from Dark Gaia's left arm. The blue spheres were all around him, and the heavy comet matter occasionally bumped into the Warrior, causing further damage. Shadow knew he was hurting, but Dark Gaia's weakness had been found. It was now just a matter of waiting for it to attack with the mouth again. About a minute later, it did. Shadow fired four firebird shots at the mouth, and the adversary lit up in a barrage of light and dark flashes. Knowing what was about to come, Shadow held the Aura up high and turned into a puddle. The liquefied warrior slipped into the surface of the comet, and the blow of energy that emerged traveled well overhead.

Shadow re-emerged in solid form and went back to his strategy of evading the blue spheres and the green balls of energy. Victory seemed to be within reach, and sure enough, before too long Dark Gaia began to charge up for another shot of powerful energy. Shadow swung away and pounded the source of all death with the firebird. After three shots in the mouth, Shadow noticed the head fall off the body and explode. A giant green orb appeared in the stomach. The Warrior immediately focused his attack there as masses of energy began to spread out in all directions. The waves hit him and rendered his already battered form even more injured, but Shadow never let up. Finally, the orb self-destructed and a multitude of explosions poured out from Dark Gaia's midsection. Everything seemed to go bright white for several minutes.


	37. Birth of the New World

**Chapter 37 – A Deep Dark Space**

The next thing they knew, Will and Kara were standing on the comet, looking out into space toward a bright, green planet.

"What's happened to the comet?" Kara asked. "That glowing green planet?"

The spirit of Olman appeared in front of them. "The comet's power has disappeared. The evil star has flown off to the other side of the universe. Will, do you know what planet that is, glowing in the darkness?" he asked.

"Our Earth?" Will answered.

"That's right, our Earth." Olman replied. "Doesn't it look like a desert oasis?"

"It's never looked so beautiful." Kara said. "But, it looks lonely shining in the dark."

At this moment they heard another voice. "Yes, the world is awakened." Another spirit came down and moved in next to Olman. "Mother?" Will asked.

Shira continued. "The Earth, a mother with millions of children. I'm sure you think of us sometimes, and I'm sure Kara often thinks about her parents. The Earth is the same way. She gets lonely if her children don't think about her."

Olman interjected. "How is it, you two? Looking at the world you live in from the outside."

"It's as if we'd become spirits too." Kara said.

"I want to show all of our group…no, I want to show everyone in the world." Will said.

"Someday, people will build ships to travel the universe. Then they will see this green earth with their own eyes." Olman said. "They'll see how lonely the earth looks, just like the two of you."

He paused, then spoke again. "Look carefully at your map of the world."

Will pulled out his map. Instantly he noticed something unusual. "Ah! The map has started to change!" he bellowed. Indeed, the continents and landmasses began to move and change shape. Laurasia split apart, and West Gondwanaland moved to the center. A new landmass rose from the northeast and yet another split from East Gondwanaland and moved north. The shapes became more rounded and a third big continent sprung up in the south. Finally, the map stopped whirring, and the land settled, two big continents in the west, and one in the center. There was a gigantic continent in the upper east and a small one in the lower east. One final landmass sat at the very bottom of the map, near the South Pole. There was no evidence of the old lands to be recognized.

"Somehow, the land has taken on a strange shape." Will said.

"That's the new world." Olman said.

"The new world?" Kara asked.

"The path of evolution, changed by the comet, has continued until now." Olman said. "The Earth too, has a life. It too has changed its shape. Now that the comet has no influence on world, it has returned to its original condition."

Will looked up from his map. "Why do you two know the future?"

"When I lost my body, I started seeing everything." Olman said. "The past, the future, humanity's progress. Maybe people would call this kind of body a spirit."

Shira interjected. "Now you and Kara can become ordinary children again. Don't be afraid."

With this sentence, a horrifying thought crossed Kara's mind. "When we return to Earth, will we be separated?" Kara asked.

"Yes." Olman replied. "The world is changing. Humanity and history have started down a new path. You two thought nothing of it when you first met in South Cape. But when the Earth needed the Light and Dark Knights, you met again unexpectedly. And then you spent nearly one hundred days together, helping to save humanity itself."

Kara looked as though she was going to cry. Olman paused for a moment, then changed his tone. "Let's look at the world before the power of the comet is extinguished."

Shira provided the closing. "We know you two have a bright future." She said as she and Olman flew off into the distance. Kara and Will watched them fly away. There was a long moment of silence, then Kara turned to Will. "Will, come here...show me your face." She said.

Will moved in close to Kara. "I want to burn you into my memory. Your eyes, your nose, your mouth, your hair, your voice, the warmth of your hand…"

Will hugged her. "Don't worry. I will search you out. No matter how long it takes, hundreds of years…thousands of years. I promise with all my heart, I will come to you." Will gave Kara a kiss and the two victorious adventures let their heartfelt emotions pour out.

**Epilogue: Birth of the New World**

The Earth's look had changed, but glowing in the sky, it was as beautiful as ever. Buildings replaced the forests, rivers became roads, but the villages held only smiling faces. But the earth was the only one that looked sad. Tomorrow, Kara and I will start our new lives. After such a long journey, I anxiously await this new beginning. ~ Will

The school day was winding down. Will was already standing by the doorway leading out to the bus ramp, with his pack slung over his broad shoulders. A loud bell sounded six times from the school's rooftop tower. "Class is over," the teacher said. "Please be careful crossing the street. We have had a lot of traffic accidents lately."

Lance, Erik, and Seth raced out of the room toward Will. They were about to hit the Seashore Cave, just like old times.


End file.
